Briefing by the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General

Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General

• Categories: Media / Press Conferences
• Video Length: 00:30:03
• Production Date: 15 April 2015
• Asset Language: English
• Subject Topical: ENERGY; MIGRANTS; SECURITY COUNCIL
• Geographic Subject: LEBANON; MALI; MIDDLE EAST; NIGER; SUDAN; YEMEN
• MAMS Id: 1334829
• Parent Id: 1334607

Description

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Zainab Hawa Bangura, spoke at the Security Council’s open debate on women, peace and security today.

A humanitarian update on Yemen, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that the ongoing conflict has significantly exacerbated the humanitarian needs for millions of people.

Another humanitarian crisis, reports that some 400 migrants have died off the coast of Libya, when their boat capsized, have triggered a series of reaction from UN agencies.

From the Middle East, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov, who is now in place, said he was encouraged by the Palestinian Government’s commitment to assume its rightful responsibilities in Gaza.

From Lebanon, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, this week visited Syrian refugees living in harsh conditions in informal settlements in south Lebanon. He called for the international community to do more to ease their plight.

From Mali, the Head of the UN Mission in the country, Mongi Hamdi, strongly condemned today the suicide attack at the entrance of a MINUSMA camp in Ansongo, in the Gao region.

From Niger, our humanitarian colleagues say today that Niger’s national survey on food vulnerability in rural areas show that 2.5 million people — that’s nearly 15 per cent of the country’s population — are food insecure.

On Burundi, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, gave a press conference today in Bujumbura, saying that Burundi is at a crossroads, and that its future may well depend on which path is chosen by individual politicians and their supporters, as well as various key authorities, over the next few weeks.

From Sudan, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) received reports that some 20,000 people have been displaced in Geissan in Sudan’s Blue Nile State, following intensified fighting between the SPLM-N (Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North) and Government forces in the area.

And just about now, across town, the Secretary-General is speaking at the Future of Energy Summit organized by Bloomberg New Energy Finance.