Secretary-General/Trip to Moldova, Ukraine, Afghanistan…

The Secretary-General arrived in the Republic of Moldova this morning for a two-day visit to express his solidarity and thank Moldova for its steadfast support for peace, and for its people’s generosity in opening their hearts and homes to almost half a million Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war.  

In a statement issued yesterday, the Secretary-General welcomed the arrival of a new group of more than 170 civilians that have been evacuated from the Azovstal steelworks and other areas of Mariupol in a safe passage operation, successfully coordinated by the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross. 

Further on this operation, the Humanitarian Coordinator, Osnat Lubrani, warned that scores of people who wanted to join the evacuation convoys over the last days have been unable to.

The Secretary-General issued a statement in which he said that he was appalled by the reported attack on Saturday, which hit a school in Bilohorivka, Ukraine, where many people were apparently seeking shelter from the ongoing fighting. 

On Afghanistan, the Secretary-General Tweeted his alarm at the Taliban’s announcement that women must cover their faces in public and leave home only in cases of necessity.  

A new UN-backed report has found that nearly half of Afghanistan’s population – or 19.7 million people – is facing acute hunger. 

Earlier today, combatants from the armed group known as the Unité pour la Paix en Centrafrique attempted to retake their former stronghold of Bokolobo, south-east of Bambari, according to the UN peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic. 

In South Sudan, the UN peacekeeping mission there – UNMISS - has carried out an air patrol over Duk County in Jonglei, following an attack on civilians last week that reportedly resulted in the deaths of at least 13 people.  

The European Union is organizing the Sixth Brussels Conference on “Supporting the future of Syria and the region” on the 9th and 10th of May 2022, as the humanitarian situation in Syria continues to deteriorate. The United Nations will participate in that Conference. 

Senegal’s Armed Forces today was approved to receive funding from the Elsie Initiative Fund to assess barriers to the participation of women in UN peace operations. 

In Abidjan, Côte D’Ivoire, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification is convening the 15th session of its Conference of the Parties, COP15. The theme is ‘Land. Life. Legacy: From scarcity to prosperity' and it is a call to action to ensure that land, which is the lifeline on this planet, will also benefit present and future generations. 

The UN Environment Programme has joined forces with religious leaders to appeal for climate-responsible finance as a moral imperative towards children. 

We have two new Resident Coordinators to announce today. Beatrice Mutali of Kenya and the United Kingdom assumed her role as Resident Coordinator in Zambia, while Gwyn Lewis of Ireland took up her new Resident Coordinator post in Bangladesh.  

In a note issued yesterday, the Secretary-General said he has accepted the resignation of Grete Faremo, the Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS).  Ms. Faremo’s resignation was effective as of yesterday.    

And finally, we thank our friends in Tirana for Albania’s full payment to this year’s regular budget. This contribution takes us to 98 fully paid-up Member States.