Jobs and Social Protection, Secretary-General…

This morning, the Secretary-General spoke at the High-Level Meeting on Financing for Development in the Era of Covid-19 and Beyond: Jobs and Social Protection for Poverty Eradication. At the General Assembly High-level event to mark the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, the Secretary-General called on the international community to reject the poisonous and flawed logic of endless nuclear competition, adding that the nuclear threat has reached its highest level in close to 40 years. This afternoon, at 3:00 p.m., the Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, will brief the Security-Council on her visit to Somalia. Geir Pedersen, the Special Envoy for Syria, briefed the Security Council this morning. The Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, is calling on authorities in Guinea to abide by their commitment towards impartial and independent justice. To strengthen security in Mali’s central region, UN peacekeepers are working in close coordination with the Malian defence forces – as part of Operation “BUFFALO”. In addition to improving security, this operation aims to restore free movement on Route Nationale 15 (RN15), which crosses central Mali East to West. Earlier this week, Nicaragua received nearly 500,000 doses of vaccines through COVAX - donated by Spain. This was the fourth batch the country has received this year, bringing the total from COVAX this year to more than 1.1 million. Of the 193 Member States, 191 Member States participated in the General Assembly high-level plenary this year. That included 99 Heads of State, 3 Vice Presidents, 51 Heads of Government and 1 Deputy Prime Minister. In addition, 34 Member States were represented at the ministerial level and 3 at the chief of delegation level. Eighteen women were among the high-level participants. And 81 of the statements that were delivered were pre-recorded, including those of 42 Heads of State, 30 Heads of Government, one Vice President and five ministers. Tomorrow our guest will be Rebeca Gyrnspan, the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). She will brief reporters on the forthcoming UNCTAD-15 conference. Kenya has now paid its regular budget dues.