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Briefing by Spokesperson for Secretary-General
Martin Griffiths, the Special Envoy for Yemen, is back in Amman today, after concluding his visits to Riyadh, Sana’a and Hodeidah yesterday. He also briefed the Security Council by VTC in closed consultations.
In Sana’a, Mr. Griffiths met with Ansar Allah leader, Abdulmalik Al Houthi, in addition to senior political officials from Ansar Allah and representatives of the General People’s Congress party. He also discussed the deployment of UN staff in support of the implementation of the Hodeidah agreement. The Special Envoy was encouraged by the responsiveness demonstrated by the leadership of Ansar Aallah in that regard.
In Hodeidah, the Special Envoy met with General Patrick Cammaert and local officials and stressed the importance of the rapid implementation of the Hodeidah Agreement, in particular speedy redeployment according to an RCC plan. Mr. Griffiths expressed concern about recent hostilities in Yemen and called on all parties to exercise utmost restraint and de-escalate tensions in Hodeidah and in other parts of the country.
During his visit to Riyadh, Mr. Griffiths received assurances from President Hadi as well as the Saudi-led Coalition of their continued commitment to respect and fully implement the Stockholm Agreement. Mr. Griffths appreciated that the parties have demonstrated the necessary flexibility and good faith regarding the timelines for implementation and the technical challenges that need to be resolved on the ground.
The Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, completed a two-day visit to Somalia where she held discussions with the President, the Prime Minister of the Federal Government and women and civil society.
Ms. DiCarlo reiterated the UN’s commitment to supporting peace, stability and prosperity for the people of Somalia. She also welcomed the Federal Government’s ongoing reform agenda and expressed the UN’s support for implementation of the milestones set out in the Government’s roadmap on inclusive politics, security and justice, economic recovery, as well as social development.
Mohamed Ibn Chambas, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel, concluded a two-week pre-electoral mission to Nigeria.
The mission, which took place from 21 to 31 January, included extensive discussions with Nigerian stakeholders in several States, including Benue, Kaduna, and Kano. During his third pre-electoral mission, Mohamed Ibn Chambas had important discussions with stakeholders and key actors involved in the preparation of the elections.
To all his interlocutors, the UN Representative conveyed the support of the UN and the international community to all efforts aiming to consolidate and strengthen Nigeria’s democracy. He called on all candidates, political parties, state institutions, and citizens of Nigeria to abide by their commitments to ensure free, credible, and peaceful elections in 2019.
He also encouraged each camp to uphold its commitments and refrain from any action that could incite confrontation and violence. He called on all Nigerians to firmly reject all undemocratic and negative voices that seek to promote conflict between Nigerians and also to disrupt the elections.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is working together with the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Ministry of Health and other partners to respond to the Ebola outbreak in the face of security challenges and community mistrust.
Six months since the outbreak was declared, there have been more than 750 cases, with 465 deaths from Ebola. In the past three weeks, nearly 120 new cases have been reported to the authorities.
Teams continue to work to prevent further transmission of the disease and actively strengthen community trust and participation in the affected areas.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said today that, in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, together with Oxfam, it has put the biggest human waste treatment facility ever built in a refugee settlement into service this week.
The new UNHCR-funded facility can process the waste of 150,000 people a day, which is roughly the equivalent of the populations of the cities of Savannah in the United States or Dijon in France.
Nearly one million Rohingya refugees live in settlements in Cox’s Bazar, including Kutupalong, the world’s largest refugee settlement which alone is home to more than 630,000 people.
Being able to treat large volumes of waste on site, rather than having to transport it elsewhere, is critical to the safe and sustainable disposal of waste in emergency situations. This will significantly reduce health risks for refugees and host communities and the likelihood of the outbreak of disease.
This morning there was a high-level event to mark the global launch of the International Year of Indigenous Languages. The Year encourages countries to renew their commitment to preserve, promote and revitalize indigenous languages. It also calls for strengthening many standard-setting tools adopted by the international community, including specific provisions to promote indigenous languages.
Cyprus and Norway have joined the Honour Roll, bringing the total number of Member States who have paid their regular budget dues to 34.
