Press Conferences
Press Briefing by Spokesperson for Secretary-General
On the travels of the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy, Christine Schraner Burgener, we will continue to support ASEAN’s important role, as reflected in her visit to Jakarta, Indonesia, where she held ministerial and other meetings on the sidelines of the ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting on 24 April.
The Secretary-General is in Geneva, where tomorrow he will convene the informal 5+1 meeting on the Cyprus issue.
Over the weekend, Tor Wennesland, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, voiced his alarm at the recent escalations in Jerusalem and around Gaza.
Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, expressed shock and pain yesterday at the enormity of the tragic incident that befell COVID-19 patients at the Ibn Khatib hospital in Baghdad on Saturday night.
The Security Council met this morning on Sudan and South Sudan.
Meanwhile the Secretary-General’s new Special Representative and the head of the UN Mission in South Sudan, Nicholas Haysom, has arrived in the country.
Turning to the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Today, UNICEF is warning that a surge of violence in the province of Ituri is worsening the plight of children.
Turning to Ethiopia, our humanitarian colleagues tell us that the security situation in the Amhara region remains tense and volatile due to inter-communal clashes that have resulted in massive population displacement, and the looting and destruction of property and infrastructure. The number of casualties is undetermined.
In neighbouring Somalia, the Federal Government, in consultation with the UN, yesterday declared drought conditions in the country following delayed and poor successive rain seasons and harsher, warmer weather.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the UN Migration Agency (IOM) today said they’re deeply saddened by the loss of at least two lives after a boat capsized off Venezuela’s shores on Thursday.
Colombia has received its second shipment of 912,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines.
A new report released today by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) says that progress in protecting the world’s forests – and the people who rely on them – is at risk due to the devastating impacts of the pandemic and the escalating climate and biodiversity crises.
The World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, today warned that while immunization services have started to recover from disruptions caused by COVID-19, millions of children remain vulnerable to deadly diseases.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) today announced the appointment of popular TV personality Raya Abirached as a Regional Goodwill Ambassador for the Middle East and North Africa.
Today is International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day.
Today is also World Intellectual Property Day.
Today, the Secretary-General is appointing Courtenay Rattray of Jamaica as High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States.
Japan has paid its full payment to the regular budget. We are now at 93 fully paid-up Member States, and we have just 100 more to go!
For further details please see SOURCE below.
Office of the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General