Virtual Press Briefing by Spokesperson for Secretary-General

Briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

• Categories: Media / Press Conferences
• Video Length: 00:25:33
• Production Date: 15 June 2020
• Asset Language: English
• Personal Subject: FARHAN HAQ
• Subject Topical: APPOINTMENT OF OFFICIALS; EPIDEMICS; LOCUSTS; RACISM; SECRETARY-GENERAL; SECURITY COUNCIL
• Geographic Subject: COLOMBIA; LIBYA; MALI; NIGERIA; PAKISTAN; SOMALIA; SYRIA
• MAMS Id: 2548213
• Parent Id: 2548213

Description

This morning, the Secretary-General took part in the virtual Leaders’ Summit organized by the UN Global Compact.

This morning the Security Council held an open meeting by video conference on the UN Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh/ISIL (UNITAD).

On Friday, a group of more than twenty senior leaders in the UN, and who are African or of African descent, published a statement expressing their outrage at pervasive and systemic racism, highlighting the need to ‘go beyond and do more’ than just offering condemnation.

Over the weekend, in a statement issued on the recent discovery of multiple mass graves in Libya, the majority of them in Tarhouna, the Secretary-General called for a thorough and transparent investigation, and for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the Secretary-General strongly condemned Saturday’s attack against a convoy of the UN Mission in Mali that was travelling between Tessalit and Gao.

The Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Edward Kallon, has condemned the attacks on Saturday by non-state armed groups in the Monguno and Nganzi Local Government Areas in which many civilians were killed.

In Somalia, the UN and our partners have welcomed yesterday’s proposal by the President to convene a meeting between the Federal Government of Somalia and all five Federal Member State Presidents and the Governor of Benadir Region.

The World Health Organization (WHO) today finalized the dispatch of more than 80 tonnes of health commodities and life-saving supplies, urgently needed in Syria.

In Colombia, the World Health Organization (WHO) said there are nearly 49,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with nearly 1,600 deaths.

Today, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Mariano Grossi, launched an initiative to strengthen global preparedness for future pandemics like COVID-19. The project is called ZODIAC.

In Pakistan, farmers have already been significantly affected by the desert locust infestation, with further damage expected at the end of the summer.

Today is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. According to estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO), 1 in 6 people aged over 60 suffers from abuse. This represents nearly 141 million people globally.

The Secretary-General is appointing Major General Kefyalew Amde Tessema of Ethiopia as Force Commander for the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA).

At 3:00 p.m. this afternoon, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba, will hold a virtual press briefing to discuss the Secretary-General's Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict.

For further details please see SOURCE below.
Office of the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General