Virtual Press Briefing by Spokesperson for Secretary-General

Briefing by Stephane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

• Categories: Media / Press Conferences
• Video Length: 00:27:07
• Production Date: 14 July 2020
• Asset Language: English
• Personal Subject: STEPHANE DUJARRIC
• Corporate Name: FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION - FAO
• Subject Topical: CORONAVIRUS DISEASE - COVID 19; SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT; WOMEN
• Geographic Subject: ARMENIA; AZERBAIJAN; CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC; COLOMBIA; DARFUR; MALI; SYRIA; TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
• MAMS Id: 2550976
• Parent Id: 2550976

Description

This morning, the Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, spoke at the Ministerial Segment of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. He said that, at a time when we desperately need to leap ahead, COVID-19 could set us back years and even decades, leaving countries with massive fiscal and growth challenges.

Very early this morning, the Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, convened the Rise for All special event, which brought together women across different sectors in recognition of front-line leadership to build back better.

A short while ago, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Colombia, Carlos Ruiz Massieu, briefed the Security Council members.

On Saturday, the Secretary-General will deliver the 18th Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture. It will be the first time that the Annual Lecture is held virtually. The Secretary-General, who should have been in South Africa, will be in New York and he will be joined by other speakers in South Africa, including President Cyril Ramaphosa.

We issued a statement last night expressing the Secretary-General’s deep concern about reports of exchanges of fire, including with heavy weaponry, along the Armenia-Azerbaijan international border.

Turning to Mali, the peacekeeping mission there reports that the situation has mostly calmed down in Bamako, following protests over the weekend.

We have an update from the UN Mission in the Central African Republic. Today, a Force convoy – comprising a casualty evacuation ambulance, medical and security staff – went to Gedze, in the Nana Mambere prefecture, where a peacekeeper from Rwanda was killed and three others injured during an attack yesterday by the alleged 3R armed group. The convoy returned with the body of the late peacekeeper as well as with the injured peacekeepers, who are all in stable condition.

The joint AU-UN mission in Darfur (UNAMID) today said that they are deeply concerned about violence in Kutum town on 12 July and the attack by unidentified armed men on the Fata Borno Camp for internally displaced people yesterday morning. That attack left 9 internally displaced people dead and 20 injured.

Turning to Syria, I can tell you we are concerned about the welfare of 1.7 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in the northeast, including 1.1 million people who are in acute need.

An update from our colleagues on the ground: In Trinidad and Tobago, which has 133 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 8 deaths due to the virus, the UN team, led by Resident Coordinator Marina Walter, is supporting the Government on the health and socioeconomic fronts.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome today launched a new comprehensive COVID-19 Response and Recovery Programme. It is aimed at preventing a global food emergency during and after the pandemic while working on medium- to long-term development responses for food security and nutrition.

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