UN News Centre - Africa

Expressing deep concerns over last week&#39s renewed violence in the Central African Republic that has reportedly claimed dozens of lives and displaced more than 11,000 persons &#8211 many civilians &#8211 United Nations Secretary-General has called on the armed groups to immediately and to &#8220genuinely&#8221 commit to peace.

All people in South Sudan, regardless of their ethnic affiliation, must unite towards creating a national identify, the head of the United Nations mission there urged today, underscoring the potential of the resource-rich African country to prosper despite its ongoing challenges.

With nearly half the population in the Central African Republic (CAR) in need of humanitarian assistance, some $400 million is required over the coming year to shore up relief efforts that will be critical “to save the lives of people who are among the poorest and most forgotten on this planet,” a senior United Nations official said today.

A joint assessment by the Office of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Programme (WFP), has revealed that 43 per cent of refugees who have been living in Chad for more than 10 years continue to face a precarious food security situation and require assistance.

Condemning the recent outbreak of ethnic violence in the Central African Republic (CAR) that has killed scores of people, the United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide has called for an immediate end to the hostilities and urged the authorities to take urgent measures to protect the population from further violence, regardless of their ethnicity or political affiliation.

The United Nations and other members of the international community have commended the efforts of Somalia’s electoral bodies to ensure a credible and legitimate electoral process and supported the bodies’ decisions to disqualify candidates who engaged in corruption, intimidation and manipulation in the ongoing parliamentary elections.

Wrapping up a visit to Africa’s Great Lakes region, a United Nations envoy today urged stakeholders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) electoral process to do more to help ensure the country is able to hold peaceful elections.

Warning that ongoing unrest and rising inflation have left more than five million people in restive north-east Nigeria facing acute food insecurity, the United Nations agriculture agency today appealed for $25 million through May 2017 to support irrigated vegetable production and micro-gardening in the dry season, as well as rebuild livestock systems.

Following a decision of the United Nations Human Rights Council, in which it setup a commission of inquiry to investigate human rights violations and abuses in Burundi, including whether they may constitute international crimes, the President of the body has appointed the Commission’s Chair and members.

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic has called for an immediate end to violence after the clashes that broke out on Monday in Bria town between armed elements of the Front populaire pour la renaissance de la Centrafrique (FPRC) and the Union pour la paix en Centrafrique (UPC).

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has sounded the alarm over the fact that two journalists in Gambia have been held for more than two weeks without access to lawyers or their family members.

The United Nations is extremely concerned by the continued worsening humanitarian situation in Ganfouda area in the Libyan city of Benghazi due to increased hostilities over the past week, a senior UN aid official in the North African country said today.

In his message on Africa Industrialization Day, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on African countries to adopt policies that encourage growth of the private sector and foster entrepreneurship in order to advance economic competitiveness and prosperity in the continent.

Noting that the electoral process in Somalia is &#8220going much better than many predicted,&#8221 the United Nations envoy in the country underlined the need to ensure that the legitimacy of the process is preserved and called on electoral bodies to investigate any credible reports of violations of rules and regulations.

Strongly condemning attacks against civilians, ethnically targeted killings, hate speech, and incitements to violence in South Sudan, the United Nations Security Council called for urgent steps to address increasing hate speech and ethnic violence, and to promote reconciliation among the people, including through a process of justice and accountability.

Ahead of local elections in Mali, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has encouraged the Government to pursue a constructive dialogue with all stakeholders to defuse tensions that may arise before and after the poll and to ensure that the holding of the elections do not compromise the advances made towards peace in the country.

Important steps have been taken recently by several United Nations agencies in partnership with the European Union to help tackle malnutrition in Chad, especially in accessibility, availability and use of highly nutritious food for the most vulnerable, according to a joint news release.

United Nations agencies are calling for immediate financial support for farmers and families in Madagascar in order to address the growing food crisis that could worsen if crops are not planted by December and January.

Briefing the United Nations Security Council for the last time, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for South Sudan called on the 15-member body to continue to accord priority to the country and to consider the future of its people in taking any decisions.

Having secured the funds for the initial phase of the deployment of the world’s first malaria vaccine, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced today it will be rolled out in sub-Saharan Africa and immunization campaigns will begin in 2018.