A helicopter carrying peacekeeping forces in Mali (Source: news.un.org) New York (VNA) – Vietnamese Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy,head of the Vietnamese Permanent Mission to the United Nations (UN), on January15 presided over a meeting of the UN Security Council (UNSC) which looked into issuesregarding Mali’s political and security situation.
At the meeting, UN Under-Secretary General for PeacekeepingOperations Jean-Pierre LaCroix presented the UN Secretary General’s report onthe political and security in Mali and the operation of the UN MultidimensionalIntegrated Stabilisation Mission (MINUSMA) in the country.
According to thereport, the situation in Mali has worsened, especially in its northern andcentral regions. The increased violent and terrorist activities againstinnocent residents, the government’s army and UN peacekeepers at MINUSMA havekilled and injured many people, and made hundreds of thousands of othershomeless.
About 1,000 schoolshave been closed and children have to stop going to school due to suchactivities, which has facilitated armed groups’ recruitment of children andyoungsters.
The UN SecretaryGeneral also touched upon the implementation of the Agreement on Peace andReconciliation in Mali signed in 2015, and lauded the Malian government’sorganisation of inclusive national dialogues.
In his video speech, TiébiléDramé, Malian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation,briefed the meeting on outcomes of these dialogues.
Addressing the event,Ambassador Quy shared the concern of the UN Secretary General and othercountries over the situation in Mali, and condemned attacks against civilians,security forces in Mali and MINUSMA.
He stressed that thefull realisation of the Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in Mali isnecessary and important to maintaining peace and security in the country, andcalled on relevant parties to continue their dialogues in order to materialisethe document.
The ambassador alsoappealed to the concerned sides to fulfill their task of protecting innocentpeople, especially women and children, enhance women’s full, practical andcomprehensive engagement in political and economic process in Mali, and supportthe operation of MINUSMA and efforts of the international community inassisting the Malian government to preserve international peace and security./.
VNA
