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Virtual Press Briefing by Spokesperson for Secretary-General
This morning, the Secretary-General spoke at the extraordinary meeting of the Global Investors for the Sustainable Development Alliance.
On the situation on the Korean Peninsula, the Secretary-General regrets the cutting off of inter-Korean communications channels by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
Today, in a video message to address the Forum of Small States, the Secretary-General noted that COVID-19 is exposing the fragility of our world. In his address to the virtual high-level event entitled “The UN Charter at 75: Multilateralism in a Fragmented World,” the Secretary-General said that the fragility exposed by the virus is not limited to our health systems. It affects all areas of our world and our institutions.
Yesterday afternoon, in a statement we issued, the Secretary-General offered his condolences to the Government and people of Burundi following the death of President Pierre Nkurunziza.
Meanwhile, the Security Council met virtually this morning on the International Criminal Court and Sudan. The Council was briefed by Fatou Bensouda, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.
The Office of the Special Envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, has concluded the first large-scale virtual consultations with hundreds of Yemenis on the opportunities and challenges of peace in Yemen.
Moving on to Syria, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that the massive UN cross-border humanitarian response continues to provide life-saving assistance to people in need throughout the northwest, including health items to prepare for the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Nigeria, our humanitarian colleagues tell us that, yesterday, more than 70 civilians were killed, and others wounded in an attack in a village in the northeast of the country.
In Ethiopia, our humanitarian colleagues, along with the government and partners, have released a revised 2020 humanitarian requirements document outlining additional priorities since the release of the 2020 Humanitarian Response Plan, that was back in January.
In Kazakhstan, there are more than 13,000 cases of COVID-19 and 61 deaths.
In Mauritania, where we are seeing more than 1,100 cases of the virus and 63 deaths, the UN team there, led by Resident Coordinator Anthony Ohemeng-Boamah, has been working with the Government and its partners to flatten the curve and support people whose lives have been disrupted due to the pandemic.
Meanwhile, our peacekeeping missions are also continuing to help governments and local communities respond to COVID-19.
Staying in the Central African Republic, a quick update on the security situation there: The UN Mission has provided reinforcements following yesterday’s attack on a checkpoint operated jointly by UN peacekeepers and the country’s armed forces in Pougol.
We end on a positive note and we send our warmest thanks to our friends in the Lao People's Democratic Republic for its full payment to the regular budget. We have now 97 Member States paid up in full for 2020.
For further details please see SOURCE below.
Office of the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General
