Press Conferences
Suriname, Western Sahara, Yemen & other topics - Daily Press Briefing
The Secretary-General is travelling to Suriname, and he will arrive there early tomorrow morning. During his trip to Suriname, the Secretary-General is scheduled to visit a rainforest region and an indigenous community, to learn more about harnessing indigenous knowledge to help adapt to climate impacts. On Sunday, he will address the opening ceremony of the Heads of Government Meeting of the Caribbean Community, known as CARICOM.
The Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this week. She is expected back in the office on Tuesday.
The Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Western Sahara, Staffan de Mistura is planning to conduct a new phase of visits to all concerned interlocutors in the region in the coming days.
The UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism for Yemen urgently needs additional funds to continue its work. With its current resources, the Mission will be forced to suspend operations at the end of August.
In Ukraine, Osnat Lubrani, the UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator, spoke out today against what she called the senseless attack on a residential building and recreational centre in which civilians were killed and wounded in the village of Serhiivka, near the port city of Odesa.
The Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon, Najat Rochdi, spoke today about the unfortunate dramatic deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Lebanon. Our recent assessments show that 2.2 million people need urgent humanitarian help until the end of the year. That’s an increase of 46 per cent from last year.
In South Sudan, the Head of the peacekeeping mission, Nicholas Haysom, warned that with less than eight months of the transitional period remaining, the window of opportunity for the revitalized peace agreement is closing.
In northeast Nigeria, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said they are concerned about the worsening food shortages in Muna camp. This is currently the largest camp for internally displaced people in Maiduguri, with a total population of more than 50,000 people.
In South Africa, under the leadership of Acting Resident Coordinator, Ayodele Odusola, our UN team continues to focus on rebuilding the province of KwaZulu-Natal, which has suffered from multiple crises over the past three years, including the pandemic, the civil unrest of last year, and the recent floods that have led to the loss of more than 400 lives and destroyed infrastructure worth millions of dollars.
In response to questions about Colombia, the Spokesman said the Secretary-General has expressed repeatedly his backing for the transitional justice system in Colombia, of which the Truth Commission is a key component and a pillar of the overall peace process.
From Mozambique, the World Health Organization says that more than 20 per cent of health facilities in the northern province of Cabo Delgado have been destroyed by non-state armed groups, leaving residents without access to basic health care. Authorities say an additional 95 sites were destroyed by cyclones this year.
For further details please see SOURCE below.
Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General