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Briefing by Spokesperson for Secretary-General
The text of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration was finalized this morning. This is the first time that Member States of the United Nations have come together to negotiate an agreement covering all dimensions of international migration in a holistic and comprehensive manner.
The Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, said that “migration raises profound issues: around State sovereignty and human rights; around what constitutes voluntary movement; the relationship between development and mobility; and how to support social cohesion”. She added: “This compact demonstrates the potential of multilateralism: our ability to come together on issues that demand global collaboration — however complicated and contentious they may be.”
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for International Migration, Louise Arbour, added that “Human mobility will be with us, as it has always been. It’s chaotic, dangerous exploitative aspects cannot be allowed to become a new normal. The implementation of the Compact will bring safety, order and economic progress to everyone’s benefit.”
On Monday, the Secretary-General will begin an official visit to Costa Rica, where he will attend the Inauguration of the commemorative week of the fortieth anniversary of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. He will also meet with Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado and other senior officials, including the Vice President and Foreign Affairs Minister, Epsy Campbell Barr, and the President of the Inter-American Court, Eduardo Ferrer Mac-Gregor.
You will have seen that yesterday afternoon, the Secretary-General announced the appointment of Major General Stefano Del Col of Italy as Head of Mission and Force Commander of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL.
Our humanitarian colleagues were alarmed by the impact of reported hostilities on civilians in several areas of Syria. Today, dozens of civilians were reportedly killed by airstrikes that hit a site for internally displaced people between Bagouz and Susah villages in the eastern Deir Ezzour countryside.
Yesterday, hostilities reportedly continued for the third day in the Akrad mountains area in western rural Idleb governorate and north-east Lattakia governorate. Several people were reportedly killed, including a woman and two children, and many others were injured by the airstrikes.
Hostilities continued to affect civilians around the Yarmouk Basin area in south-west Dara’a governorate. In Hayt town, strikes reportedly killed three children and a woman and wounded six other people.
Despite the return of tens of thousands of internally displaced people following local agreements and changes in control in many areas, it is estimated that up to 234,500 people remain displaced across south-west Syria. Some 70 per cent, around 160,000 people, are reportedly located in Quneitra in the west with limited access to humanitarian assistance.
The Humanitarian Coordinator for South Sudan, Alain Noudehou, yesterday called for the urgent scale-up of humanitarian assistance for displaced people in Tambura, in Western Equatoria. Tambura has in recent weeks witnessed an influx of over 18,000 internally displaced people following an escalation in fighting in the surrounding areas.
Mr. Noudehou expressed serious concerns about the deteriorating situation there and called on all sides to facilitate safe access for humanitarian assistance. He reiterated that the UN is committed to supporting its partners in the provision of assistance based on need, including in the delivery of vital supplies. Most urgently, the UN will provide emergency latrines to recently displaced populations to protect communities from the potentially catastrophic spread of water-borne disease.
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said today that after months of conflict between the Hema and Lendu ethnic groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Ituri region, they were recently able to obtain access to the area where they met some of the 150,000 formerly displaced people who are now returning in hope of finding their homes.
They said that conditions are grim. Around 350,000 people are estimated to have fled the violence, and those who have returned so far are in many cases finding that their villages and homes have been reduced to ash. UNHCR heard harrowing reports of barbaric violence, including armed groups attacking civilians with guns, arrows and machetes; entire villages razed; and farms and shops looted and damaged beyond repair. The humanitarian challenges are enormous, with hospitals, schools, and other key infrastructure destroyed.
UNHCR is providing emergency and transition shelter kits to replace houses that have been damaged or destroyed, as well as cash grants to meet immediate and critical needs. However, the humanitarian appeal for the DRC continues to be among the least-funded in the world and UNHCR has received just 17 per cent of the required $201 million.
Today at the High-Level Political Forum, participants discussed progress towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15, which calls on countries to “protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss”. Participants highlighted the importance of this goal to ensure water supplies, mitigate climate change and secure the well-being of many indigenous communities and others traditionally viewed as excluded, marginalized or at risk of being left behind.
And a huge thanks go to our friends in [the Republic of] Moldova as they have paid their regular budget dues in full. The honour roll is now up to 109.
The Secretary-General announced today the appointment of Hanna S. Tetteh of Ghana as Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi.
She succeeds Ms. Sahle-Work Zewde, who has been appointed as Special Representative to the African Union and Head of the United Nations Office to the African Union (UNOAU).
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