On 7 March 2018, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1970 (2011) concerning Libya received a letter from the Coordinator of the Panel of Experts on Libya expressing the Panel’s extreme concern regarding media reports citing, often inaccurately and out of context, extracts from the unpublished interim report prepared by the Panel, in accordance with paragraph 14 of resolution 2362 (2017), as well as reproducing the content of the entire report.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said the arrival of migrants in Italy — the most active route for those leaving North Africa for Europe — hit a five-year low: 5,247 for the first two months of 2018, versus some 13,000 for the same period last year. IOM attributed the drop, in part, to voluntary humanitarian returns from detention centres in Libya.
The Food and Agriculture Organization Food Price Index for February found that rising world prices for staple grains and dairy products more than offset lower prices for vegetable oils, leading global food commodity prices up 1.1 per cent. FAO also lowered projections for global wheat harvests this year.
United Nations humanitarian organizations and partners in Libya say they are deeply concerned about the situation faced by Tawergha men, women and children who are unable to return home and are currently living in makeshift-tented settlements in precarious conditions in Qararat al-Qataf and Hwara.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is calling for calm and restraint after reports of a refugee protest turning violent in Rwanda’s Kiziba refugee camp. The camp hosts over 17,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, around 77 per cent of which are women and children.
On 9 February 2018, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1970 (2011) concerning Libya held informal consultations to consider the interim report of its Panel of Experts, submitted in accordance with paragraph 14 of resolution 2362 (2017).
United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock and United Nations Development Programme Head Achim Steiner are in Somalia to bring attention to the recently launched $1.5 billion aid appeal to avert famine and build resilience in the country. Some 5.4 million people need life-saving humanitarian assistance.
On 26 January 2018, the Committee renewed the listing and enacted the amendments specified with strikethrough and underline in the entry specified below on its List of individuals and entities subject to the assets freeze, travel ban and other measures relating to attempts to illicitly export petroleum, including crude oil and refined petroleum products, from Libya (the Libya Sanctions List), set out in paragraphs 15 and/or 17 of Security Council resolution 1970 (2011) and/or paragraph 19 of resolution 1973 (2011), or paragraph 10 of resolution 2146 (2014) as extended and modified by paragraph 2 of resolution 2362 (2017), adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations.
The Humanitarian Coordinator for Libya launched the 2018 Humanitarian Response Plan to support the humanitarian needs of 940,000 people living in the country. The Plan seeks $313 million in donor funding to implement 71 projects by 21 humanitarian organizations.
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary‑General António Guterres:
