UNISFA was established in 2011 in Abyei, the oil-rich region disputed between Sudan and South Sudan. Its mandate includes monitoring and verifying the redeployment of forces from the region, facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid and protecting civilians.
Last month, UN Undersecretary-General for Africa Martha Pobee told the Security Council that progress on the political track has been slow since the start of the Sudan war in 2023 and growing political stability in South Sudan.
He also said the operational environment in Kadugli “has become unsustainable” and that the fighting was putting peacekeepers at risk.
UNISFA underlined the commitment to the implementation of the mandate of the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism (JBVMM).
The Mission is “closely monitoring developments on the ground” and “will reconsider the resumption of our activities in Kadugli when the situation permits.”
International Migrant Day: Celebrating contributions, highlighting challenges
Venezuelans living in other Latin American and Caribbean countries contribute more than $10.6 billion each year to local economies, primarily through spending on food, education and health care.
The conclusion appears in a report by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) published on Thursday, International Migrants Day.
The analysis is based on research carried out since 2021 in Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Peru and Aruba.
Other findings show that Venezuelans make valuable tax contributions, representing approximately just over one percent of total tax revenue in these countries. In Colombia alone, this has exceeded 529 million dollars in a single year.
Globally, there are more than 300 million migrants, according to UN estimates.
Millions forced to move
While the International Day provides an opportunity to highlight their invaluable contributions, it also highlights the increasingly complex environment in which migration occurs.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres noted that conflict, climate-related disasters and economic pressures continue to drive millions of people to seek safety or opportunity outside their home countries.
“Last year saw record levels of internal displacement, growing humanitarian needs in new and ongoing crises and, tragically, the highest number of migrant deaths in transit to date,” he said in his message to mark the Day.
“By supporting regular pathways for migration, we can provide opportunities for migrants, better protect their rights and contribute to greater prosperity in the countries from which they come and those that host them.”
General Assembly commemorates the first International Day against Colonialism
Meanwhile, in New York, the UN General Assembly celebrated the first International Day against Colonialism in All its Forms and Manifestations, which supports the implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, adopted 65 years ago.
Since then, the UN has helped more than 60 territories – home to more than 80 million people – seek self-determination and emerge as independent states.
However, “that legacy is unfinished,” said Under Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support Elizabeth Spehar.
Today, there remain 17 non-ruling territories and “vestiges of colonialism persist, not only on maps, but in the architecture of global power.”
Institutions such as the Security Council and the international financial system “bear the imprint of a world that no longer exists: a world of empires, not of equals,” he stated.
Ms. Spehar, speaking on behalf of the Secretary-General, recalled that the United Nations was created 80 years ago to save coming generations from war, defend human rights and promote progress towards greater freedom.
“Let us renew that promise, not only by ending colonialism in its traditional forms, but by dismantling its remains wherever they linger.”
Voters in what was formerly known as French Togo in West Africa celebrate the election of a new Chamber of Deputies in 1958, a step towards an independent Togo.