SOMALIA
The Secretary-General arrived earlier today in Somalia on his annual solidarity visit for Ramadan. At the airport, he was received by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Somalia, Abshir Omar Jama, and soon after, he headed to Villa Somalia, the home of the President of Somalia, for a meeting with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. They discussed the Government’s valuable efforts to tackle terrorism and advance peace and security for everyone, among other issues.
In a joint media encounter with the President, the Secretary-General said he is also in the country to ring the alarm on the humanitarian crisis, noting that Somalia is experiencing its worst drought in recorded history. He pointed out that although Somalis make virtually no contribution to climate change, they are among the greatest victims. 
The Secretary-General also noted that nearly five million people are experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity and rising prices are making matters worse. He called on donors and the international community to step up their support to urgently fund the 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan, which is currently just 15 per cent funded. 
The Secretary-General then went off to Baidoa, where he visited the same camp for internally displaced persons that he saw six years ago in his visit to Somalia. 
For almost an hour, he walked through the camp and listened to the stories of families, seeing first-hand the challenges brought by the dire humanitarian situation in the country.
He stressed that it is time for the international community to mobilise much more support for the Somalis to guarantee the security of their people and fight terrorism and to solve the humanitarian drama that he witnessed first-hand at the camp.
Later today at the UN compound he met with representatives of Somali civil society, youth groups and other marginalized groups. He is also attending an iftar dinner prepared with Somalis. Tomorrow we expect him to have a press conference in Mogadishu. 

AFGHANISTAN
An update from Afghanistan, you will have seen that our colleagues in Kabul issued a statement very early this morning saying that following the decision of the de facto authorities to ban Afghan women from working for the UN in Afghanistan, the mission there initiated an operational review period up to 5 May this year, to conduct the necessary consultations and make required operational adjustments and accelerate contingency planning for all possible outcomes. 
UN national personnel – both women and men – have been instructed not to report to UN offices, with only limited and calibrated exceptions made for critical tasks, but they will be working from home and continue to be paid. The mission said any negative consequences of this crisis for the Afghan people will be the responsibility of the de facto authorities. 
Just to confirm that we will maintain principled and constructive engagement with all possible levels of the Taliban de facto authorities, as mandated by the Security Council.

SUDAN
A quick note on Sudan where I can tell you we are deeply concerned by a video circulating featuring a man requesting a fatwa at a public event last night in Khartoum to allow him to assassinate the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sudan Volker Perthes.
The language of incitement and violence will only deepen divisions on the ground. It will not deter the UN Mission from carrying out its duties.
The Sudanese Government has the responsibility and the duty to ensure, as pursuant to the provisions of the 2021 Agreement between the UN and the Government, the safety and security of the UN Mission and all of its members.
The UN Mission including its head Volker Perthes remain committed to supporting the people of Sudan in achieving the political transition to democratic rule, pursuant to its mandate.

TÜRKIYE
In Ankara, Türkiye, today, Alvaro Rodriguez, the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, briefed donor Member States to our $1 billion Flash Appeal on the earthquake. The Appeal is 29 per cent funded as of today.
Thanks to the funds raised, we and our humanitarian partners have reached nearly 770,000 people with tents and other shelter supplies, and every day, 2.3 million people are receiving hot meals. 
More than a million people in the earthquake zone have received water, sanitation and hygiene assistance. And more than 137,000 people have received protection services, including psychosocial support and legal counselling. Sexual and reproductive services have also been provided for some 6,800 people, and more than 13,000 people have received dignity and maternity kits. 
Our humanitarian colleagues are also telling us that we and our partners are supporting the restoration of more than 1,200 damaged schools, and about 87 tents have been set up in various schools to be used as temporary education facilities.

CHINA
The Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo is continuing her visit to China before heading on to Japan and the Republic of Korea. Today she met today with State Councilor and Minister for Foreign Affairs Qin Gang and they discussed UN engagement and cooperation efforts with China and other regional developments.
She also met with other senior officials with whom she discussed a wide range of issues related to Africa, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. 

THE GAMBIA
Our team in The Gambia, led by Resident Coordinator Seraphine Wakana, has been supporting the National Disaster Management Agency to respond to heavy floods for the past eight months, in close collaboration with the Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. 
During this period, the World Food Programme rolled out a cash-based emergency food assistance programme, helping 38,500 flood-affected people to meet basic food and nutrition needs through a $650,000 allocation from the Central Emergency Response Fund.
The UN Children’s Fund provided access to safe water for flood-affected households, including emergency water facilities and latrines for 42,200 people.
Our colleagues on the ground are also boosting preparedness for future climate-related catastrophes. 
 
BENJAMIN FERENCZ
In a statement we issued last night, the Secretary-General expressed his sadness at the passing of Benjamin Ferencz. 
After seeing the horrors of the Holocaust first-hand as a soldier and investigating and prosecuting Nazi war crimes at the Nuremberg trials as a young lawyer, Mr. Ferencz devoted most of his life to trying to make the world a better place.  He was an early and passionate advocate for the establishment of an international criminal court which he described as “the missing link in the world legal order.” Mr. Ferencz remained a stalwart defender of the International Criminal Court the rest of his life.
Our best tribute to Mr. Ferencz is to continue his essential work to promote accountability for atrocity crimes and ensure that the voices of victims are heard.  

EXHIBITION
At 6 p.m. tonight in the Visitors’ Lobby, there will be an opening event for the exhibition “Stories of Survival and Remembrance: A Call to Action for Genocide Prevention”.
The exhibit is a joint project of the Holocaust and the UN Outreach Programme, the Outreach Programme on the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and the Office for the Prevention of Genocide and the Responsibility to Protect. 
Speakers will include the Special Advisor on Genocide Prevention, Alice Nderitu, as well as a survivor of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, featured in the exhibit.

HYBRID BRIEFING TOMORROW
Tomorrow we will have around 12:00 p.m., a briefing by the President of the Economic and Social Council, Lachezara Stoeva.

FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION
We now have 88 paid-up Member States for their dues. This Southeast Asian Nation is home to three UNESCO World Heritage sites including one called Sambor Prei Kuk. It’s Cambodia and we thank our friends in Phnom Penh.