Press Briefing by Spokesperson for Secretary-General

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

• Categories: Media / Press Conferences
• Video Length: 00:20:54
• Production Date: 16 December 2020
• Asset Language: English
• Personal Subject: STEPHANE DUJARRIC
• Subject Topical: APPOINTMENT OF OFFICIALS; CORONAVIRUS DISEASE - COVID 19
• Geographic Subject: CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC; ETHIOPIA; FIJI; KAZAKHSTAN; LIBYA; SOUTH SUDAN; SYRIA; YEMEN
• MAMS Id: 2593725
• Parent Id: 2593725

Description

In Ethiopia, the UN Senior leadership in country including the Resident Coordinator, Dr. Catherine Sozi, the Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, Mr. Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, the Special Representative of the Secretary General to the UN Office to the African Union, Ms. Hanna Tetteh, and the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, Ms. Vera Songwe met yesterday with the Deputy Prime Minister, who is also the Foreign Minister of Ethiopia, Mr. Demeke Mekonnen Hassen.

Geir Pedersen, the Special Envoy for Syria, briefed the Security Council this morning on the work of the constitutional committee and other recent developments.

The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) applauds the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Libya for the decision taken in this morning’s long-awaited meeting to unify the exchange rate.

The Secretary-General has appointed Raisedon Zenenga of Zimbabwe as Assistant Secretary-General and Mission Coordinator to the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).

Yesterday afternoon, Security Council members met on South Sudan.

In the Central African Republic, the UN Mission has reinforced security in Bossangoa and Koro-M'poko, both in the Ouham prefecture. This happened yesterday after hundreds of protesters, including anti-Balaka combatants, demonstrated following the invalidation of the candidacy of former President François Bozizé, and that candidacy is to the forthcoming presidential elections.

In Yemen, the UN response plan remains less than half-funded, it’s funded at 49%. The total plan calls for more than $3 billion. The current level today is less than half as much as agencies received last year.

In Fiji, UN humanitarian colleagues say that Tropical Cyclone Yasa has intensified into a Category 5 storm and continues to move slowly towards the country. The cyclone is expected to make landfall on Friday morning.

In Kazakhstan, the UN team, led by Resident Coordinator Michaela Friberg-Storey, is supporting authorities as they address a surge in cases. Leading the UN team’s health response, since March, the World Health Organization has sent more than 76 tons of material to support health workers responding to the pandemic.

The Spokesman thanked Lesotho and Costa Rica. Both countries have paid up their dues in full for 2020, which takes us to 139 fully paid-up Member States.

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MEETINGS COVERAGE