SECRETARY-GENERAL’S APPEAL
During the weekend, as Christians celebrated Easter and Jews marked Passover, and with Ramadan about to begin soon, the Secretary-General made a special appeal to religious leaders of all faiths to join forces to work for peace around the world and focus on our common battle to defeat COVID-19.
He said that this is a time like no other, as we are all seeking to navigate a strange, surreal world. A world of silent streets. Shuttered storefronts. Empty places of worship. And a world of worry.
He said, “Let us all take inspiration from the essence of these holy occasions as moments for reflection, remembrance and renewal.” As we reflect, he added, let us spare a special thought for heroic health workers on the frontlines battling this awful virus – and for all those working to keep our cities and towns going.
He also called on all to remember the most vulnerable of the vulnerable around the world – those in war zones and refugee camps and slums and all those places least equipped to fight the virus.
 
MIDDLE EAST
The Secretary-General’s envoys for the Middle East, in a joint statement also issued over the weekend, recalled his appeal on 23 March for an immediate Global Ceasefire, and added that too many in the Middle East have endured conflict and deprivation for far too long.
The envoys jointly called on all parties in the region to engage, in good faith and without preconditions, on negotiating immediate halts to ongoing hostilities, sustaining existing ceasefires, putting in place more durable and comprehensive ceasefires, and achieving longer-term resolutions to the persistent conflicts across the region. They also appealed to all to exercise maximum restraint, reach out across conflict lines and facilitate humanitarian access and called for special attention to the plight of the detained, the abducted and the missing.
The envoys said that their teams will continue to focus on preventive diplomacy, on assisting all efforts to respond to the health and socio-economic consequences of the crisis, support broad cooperation in the interest of peace and the well-being of all, work relentlessly to facilitate humanitarian access to the most vulnerable, and engage resolutely for these objectives.
In a separate statement, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov said that he was concerned about the socio-economic consequences of the COVID-19 health crisis on the Palestinian people, particularly vulnerable communities in Gaza. If current trends continue, the damage to the Palestinian economy will be substantial. In that context, he welcomed Prime Minister Shtayyeh’s announcement of an emergency budget aimed at keeping public spending to a minimum.
 
COVID-19/CHILDREN
UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore today said that hundreds of thousands of children currently detained in countries around the world are at grave risk of contracting COVID-19.
Many children are being held in confined and overcrowded spaces with inadequate access to nutrition, healthcare and hygiene services, she said, warning that an outbreak in one of these facilities could happen at any moment.
Ms. Fore also pointed out that detained children are also more vulnerable to neglect, abuse and gender-based violence, and called on governments and other detaining authorities to urgently release all children who can safely return to their families or an appropriate alternative.
UNICEF also calls for an immediate moratorium on new admissions of children to detention facilities.
 
SYRIA
Our humanitarian colleagues are concerned about the impact of COVID-19 on people across Syria, including the millions of women, children and men in urgent need of life-saving assistance in the north-west, many of them recently displaced and particularly vulnerable. 
To date, the Syrian Government has confirmed a total of 25 cases, including five people who have recovered and two fatalities.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is leading UN support in preparing for and mitigating the risk of the spread of COVID-19 the pandemic across Syria.  
The UN is stepping up its efforts to mitigate the virus’s spread with a focus on enhancing the capacity to detect, diagnose and prevent the spread of COVID-19 to the extent possible; ensuring adequate surveillance of entry points; and providing protective equipment and training to health workers.
 
LIBYA
Our colleagues in Libya report that hostilities in the western region of the country have continued to cause civilian casualties and triggered new displacement.
Yesterday, heavy shelling was reported in parts of Tripoli. Shelling has also hit residential areas in Tajoura and struck an ambulance near Misrata, killing a paramedic. This was the eighth attack on health facilities this year.
During the last weeks, about 3,700 people have fled their homes in Abusliem District in Tripoli.
More than 2 million people, including 600,000 children, who live in Tripoli and surrounding towns and cities, have suffered from water cuts for more than a week. The water cuts have coincided with a serious power outage in the western region, also imposed due to another individual dispute.
The Humanitarian Coordinator for Libya, Yacoub El Hillo, stressed that water should never be used as a pressure card nor as a weapon of war, especially now when Libya is fighting the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
COVID-19/KAZAKHSTAN
We have an update from our colleagues in Kazakhstan, where there are around 900 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and the UN team is working closely with authorities to address the immediate health needs.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has repurposed and hired additional staff to support national efforts, and has also trained health care professionals on infection, prevention and control.
The UN team has launched awareness raising campaigns to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and is also working with the private sector to boost preparedness and response.
 
COVID-19/COMOROS
In Comoros, although the country has no registered COVID-19 cases, the UN is working closely with the Government on its National Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan, contributing nearly $2.5 million to a national contingency initiative and providing surge personnel.
The President of Comoros is working directly with the UN Resident Coordinator and the heads of UN agencies, funds and programmes to strengthen collaboration and boost preparedness.
The UN team has helped set up a monitoring and control system at the international airport, ordering personal protective equipment for hospitals and ambulance staff, and providng additional testing supplies and medical equipment to local hospitals and laboratories. The UN has also trained healthcare and laboratory workers on emergency response procedures.
The UN is working with municipalities to boost sanitation measures, including in street markets.
 
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS
On financial contributions, we have great news today, as we acknowledge two more Member States that have paid their regular budget dues in full - Jamaica and Japan.
That brings to 80 the total number of countries that have paid in full.