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Press Briefing by Spokesperson for Secretary-General
The Council started its work this morning with closed consultations on the Middle East. Council members heard an update on the situation in occupied East Jerusalem from the UN Special Coordinator, Tor Wennesland.
In the Central African Republic, peacekeepers have been deployed since yesterday morning to help secure the town of Bakouma, which is about 130 km north of Bangassou.
Our colleagues on the ground say they remain appalled by the ongoing violence at the hands of security forces since the military took over the Government on 1 February.
In Pakistan, our team there, led by Resident Coordinator Julien Harneis, tells us that that the first batch of more than 1.2 million doses of the vaccine from COVAX arrived in the country on Saturday. The second shipment of another 1.2 million doses is expected in the coming days. The UN team is working with COVAX to supply enough doses to vaccinate 20 per cent of Pakistan’s population.
In Nepal, our team there, led by Resident Coordinator Sara Beysolow Nyanti, is stepping up its support to address the rapid surge in COVID-19 cases by deploying staff and additional financial and technical support.
I just want to flag an announcement from our colleagues at the Department of Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance. They say that the United Kingdom has donated $1.1 million to the Trust Fund of Victims of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse. That bring the toal money in the Trust Fund to 3.8 million dollars.
Over the weekend we expressed our sadness and condolences of the Secretary-General following the passing of Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Erskine, of Ghana, at the age of 86. He served as the first Force Commander of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon from 1978 to 1981.
I was also asked late on Friday about the announcements from Somalia and Kenya regarding the efforts underway towards restoring diplomatic relations. We welcome that announcement and recognize the role played by the State of Qatar in this regard.
Over the weekend we issued another statement in which the Secretary-General welcomed the appointment of John Mahama of Ghana as the African Union High Representative for Somalia.
Over the weekend we issued a statement following the horrific attack in Kabul in which the Secretary-General strongly condemned the attack that killed and injured scores of civilians, including many girls.
Today is the International Day of Argania. The argan tree is a native species of the sub-Saharan region of Morocco, in the southwest of the country. The tree grows in arid and semiarid areas.
Tomorrow we will have guests to brief on the World Economic Situation and Prospects Mid-year Update.
For further details please see SOURCE below.
Office of the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General
