Briefing by Spokesperson for Secretary-General

Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

• Categories: Media / Press Conferences
• Video Length: 00:41:43
• Production Date: 18 May 2016
• Asset Language: English
• Personal Subject: STEPHEN O'BRIEN
• Subject Topical: CEASEFIRES; CLIMATE CHANGE; EARTHQUAKES; HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS; INTERNATIONAL DAYS; PEACEKEEPERS; REFUGEES; SHELTER; URBANIZATION; VIRUSES
• Geographic Subject: ECUADOR; EUROPE; KENYA; KUWAIT; SRI LANKA; SYRIA; YEMEN
• MAMS Id: 1626188
• Parent Id: 1626157

Description

The Secretary-General spoke today by telephone with President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya following the Kenyan Government’s decision of 6 May 2016 to close the Dadaab refugee camps.

The Secretary-General today spoke at the Columbia University Commencement Ceremony. He urged students to use their passion and compassion to help build a world in which all people enjoy dignity and peace.

The Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, in a joint press encounter in Vienna today with the Austrian Foreign Minister, said that after the strong declaration yesterday by the International Syria Support Group (ISSG), the next step is to test that decision by reinforcing the cessation of hostilities and relaunching humanitarian aid.

The Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, met today with the United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, and the two delegations to the Yemen peace talks and urged the participants to continue their efforts to reach a political agreement that will ensure the safety and stability of Yemen and its people.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that heavy rains, floods and landslides in several parts of Sri Lanka have affected over 352,000 people as of today, according to Government officials.

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) launched today a new global campaign, called Nobody Left Outside, aimed at facing a half-billion-dollar deficit in funds to provide adequate shelter for refugees living under its care.

In Ecuador, a 6.7 magnitude aftershock rattled the country today in the coastal area near the place where the worst earthquake to hit the country in decades struck last month.

A new report released by the World Health Organization (WHO) assessed the risk of a Zika virus disease outbreak occurring during late spring and summer in the European Region.

The United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat) released today its new World Cities Report. According to the report, two-thirds of the global population is expected to live in cities by 2030 and produce as much as 80 per cent of the global GDP.

The United Nations will observe the International Day of Peacekeepers here at the UN headquarters tomorrow. The Secretary-General will lay a wreath to honour all fallen peacekeepers.