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Briefing by Spokesperson for Secretary-General
The Secretary-General this morning spoke at the high-level pledging conference for the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, otherwise known as the CERF, which he called the most effective investment that can be made in humanitarian action.
Related to the CERF, Mark Lowcock, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, has set aside some $2.6 million from the emergency Fund to support the response to the measles outbreak in Samoa and other countries in the Pacific.
The Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, is in Amman today, where she is meeting with senior Government authorities, the UN Country Team, regional representatives and other entities of the UN system.
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, met yesterday with Iraqi President Barham Salih and discussed the current political and security developments in the country.
Some 4 million people in need across northern Syria are supported by the UN cross-border humanitarian assistance mechanism, including 2.7 million people in the northwest who rely solely on the operation for life-saving assistance.
We told you last week that, following attacks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo against civilians and Ebola responders, we have decided to send Lt. General Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz, of Brazil, to the country.
Ursula Mueller, the Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, is arriving in Niger today where she will be there until 14 December, to assess the situation on the ground and the needed response.
Also on the humanitarian front, higher-than-average water temperatures in the Indian Ocean have led to unseasonably heavy rainfall in East Africa.
From South Sudan, our peacekeeping colleagues tell us that a fresh outbreak of clashes between communities and other fighting over the weekend has led to civilians being killed and displaced in the center and north of the country.
Today, the UN Development Programme launched its 2019 Human Development Report on Inequality. The report is entitled ‘Beyond Income, Beyond Averages, Beyond Today,’ and identifies a new generation of inequalities that are increasingly determining people’s opportunities in the 21st century and driving the global protests sweeping the world.
Today is International Anti-Corruption Day.
Also, today is the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of Genocide.
I was asked about the Secretary-General’s own reaction to Brazil’s decision last week to recognize thousands of Venezuelan asylum-seekers as refugees. I can say that the Secretary-General welcomes and thanks Brazil for this decision.
For further details please see SOURCE below.
Office of the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General