Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Briefing via VTC, the Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, Guang Cong told the Council that “since the start of the war in Sudan in 2023, over 1.3 million Sudanese refugees and South Sudanese returnees have fled to South Sudan,” and added that “this massive influx has compounded an already dire humanitarian situation.”

Cong said his Office continues to engage with the Abyei High-Level Committee and other stakeholders to support preparations for renewed bilateral talks, while urging progress on benchmarks tied to the mission’s mandate renewal and broader concerns.

He said, “I will continue to support efforts to resolve outstanding issues from the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between Sudan and South Sudan, and will continue to provide support to the Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Sudan, the African Union and IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development) as well as other partners in the ongoing efforts to end the war in Sudan and to initiate a political process that should also include South Kordofan and the Blue Nile states.”

Cong said he will also “continue to engage with the governments of Sudan and South Sudan to restart dialogue on the final status of Abyei.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEqXcJt0Xf8

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Assistant Secretary-General for Africa Martha Pobee told the Security Council that the political environment in Abyei has remained “constrained by the conflicts in the Sudan and instability in South Sudan,” limiting progress by the two countries “towards resolving their disputes over the management of the Abyei territory and its final status.”

Pobee noted that the security environment “deteriorated over the past six months, mostly due to criminality, weapons proliferation and the presence of unauthorised armed actors, which have combined to create a complex and volatile threat environment.”

The Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), she said, “recorded 196 security incidents, with 58 fatalities and 69 injuries, marking a significant increase from the previous reporting period.”

Pobee noted that the mission continues to conduct robust patrols and rapid response operations, while also supporting weapons disposal, mine action and humanitarian access, adding that sustained engagement by the Council will remain essential to uphold the demilitarized status of Abyei and advance a durable political solution.

She said, “the immediate withdrawal of all unauthorised forces, including the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces and the Rapid Support Forces from the Abyei area, remains essential.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuqxeAPqkko

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Iranian Ambassador Amir-Saeid Iravani told reporters in New York that “the only viable solution in the Strait of Hormuz is a permanent end to the war, the lifting of maritime blockade, and the restoration of normal passage,” and said a Security Council draft resolution tabled by the United States and Bahrain is “flawed, politically motivated” and drafted “under the pretext of freedom of navigation to advance its political agenda and legitimize unlawful actions, not to resolve the crisis.”

Iravani said, “the draft falsely accused Iran of violating the ceasefire of 8th April, while deliberately concealing material facts. It also attributes serious violations to Iran, including attacks on vessels and placement of sea mines without presenting credible and verified evidence.”

He said the text “ignores the unlawful maritime blockade imposed by the United States, as well as attacks on the seizure of Iranian vessels,” constituting “a material breach of the ceasefire, violation of the prohibition on the sea of force, and serious infringement of freedom of navigation.”

The Iranian Ambassador said, “the claim that the current situation constitutes a threat to international peace and security has no objective or credible basis” and the invocation of chapter seven of the UN Charter “is wholly unjustified, disproportionate and based on politically motivated allegation and it serves further military objectives.”

If adopted, he said, the resolution would “seriously damage the credibility and impartiality of the Security Council, it would politicize the Council’s enforcement power and establish a dangerous precedent for legitimizing unilateral coercive measures and unlawful action by the United States against the sovereignty and sovereign rights of coastal states.”

Iravani stressed that “Iran remains fully prepared to resolve normal maritime traffic and ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, provided that the war is permanently ended, and the unlawful blockade is lifted.”

The question today before the Council members, he said, was, “why should a member state located thousands of miles away from the Persian Gulf and acting in a destabilizing manner, be permitted to use the Security Council to advance its political agenda in the Persian Gulf? while Iran, as a coastal state of the Strait of Hormuz, is denied its lawful rights to defend its security and sovereignty and is instead threatened with enforcement action on the chapter seven of the Charter.”

Iravani said, “the United States has neither the legal, political, nor moral standing to portray itself as a defender of freedom of navigation or maritime security” adding that it has “continued its internationally wrongful act by imposing a so-called maritime blockade, unlawfully seizing Iranian commercial vessels like pirates, and taking their crews hostage.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QAZOotfgOM

Source: United Nations (video statements)

A deadly #hantavirus outbreak aboard a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean poses a low global public health risk according to World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Eight cases have been reported so far, including five laboratory-confirmed infections and three suspected cases linked to the rare Andes strain of hantavirus.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-EnVcPIgGns

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Bahrain together with the United States, with the backing of Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, circulated a draft resolution earlier this week to the Security Council on the situation of Strait of Hormuz. It calls on Iran to cease attacks, mining, and tolling in the Strait as well as to participate in the UN’s efforts to establish a humanitarian corridor.

Speaking to reporters today (7 May) in New York, Bahrain’s Ambassador Jamal Fares Alrowaiei said, “the draft resolution is guided by the clear principal – freedom of navigation in accordance with the international law, as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.:”

Ambassador Alrowaiei emphasized that it also supports ongoing efforts to seek durable peace in the region and encourages dialog in the regard. “This initiative reflects our strong commitment to regional security, to multilateral cooperation, and to the peaceful resolution of dispute,” he said.

US Ambassador Mike Waltz pointed out that the draft revolution is “an evolution “of resolution 2817. It “requires Iran to do some very simple, straightforward things, the Ambassador said, “cease its attacks on commercial shipping, cease mining and remove its mines from an international waterway; cease tolling, charging illegal tolls in the Strait of Hormuz, and allow the UN to move forward with humanitarian aid, lifesaving aid, through that international corridor.”

The US Ambassador stated that now it is left for the international community to choose, “are the countries of the Council choosing to stand with a regime that slaughters its own people, that brutalize its neighbors, that strangles the world’s economy? Or are they standing with the shining cities of Manama, Kuwait City, Dubai, Riyadh, Doha with the people that seek a better future for not only their people, but for the region and for the world?”

“I know what decision the United States is making,” Ambassador Waltz reiterated, “we’re choosing to stand with the freedom of navigation. We’re choosing to stand with international law. We’re choosing to stand with our partners as we move forward.”

For his part, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates Mohamed Abushahab said, “while the draft resolution does not give any authorization or impose sanctions on Iran, by acting under Chapter VII, the Council would make clear that its decisions in this resolution are binding and that the Council is serious about them, and that it may consider further measures if its decisions are not implemented.”

Ambassador of Qatar Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani said, “we look forward to continuing our engagement intensively with Member States to secure the support for this timely Security Council resolution on guaranteeing the freedom of navigation while protecting maritime waterways.”

The Ambassadors at the press encounters are US Ambassador Mike Waltz, Ambassador Jamal Fares Alrowaiei, Bahrain’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Mohamed Issa Abushahab, UAE’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Abdulaziz M. Alwasil, Saudi Arabia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Alya Ahmed Saif Al-Thani, Qatar’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, and Ambassador Tareq M. A. M. Albanai, Kuwait’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEHDGa1Z0Bo