SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES

WEDNESDAY, 18 MARCH 2020

COVID-19: UN RESPONSE
The Secretary-General is in the office today with a reduced staff. He is spending most of the day making calls to leaders of UN entities, staff and missions around the world to check in on them and to see how they are doing.

Following is an update on the UN system response to the pandemic:
In Peru, in addition to immediate health needs, UN entities are working with the Government to minimize the social and economic impacts of the outbreak.
The Pan-American Health Organization and the World Health Organization (WHO) have been working permanently with the Ministry of Health on public health system preparedness and community awareness.
Meanwhile, the International Labour Organization has also been working with other ministries to protect people's rights.
UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) are working with Government counterparts to support migrants and refugees, who are coming from Venezuela to access social programmes that may be limited. UNFPA is also working on reproductive health services in that regard.

Meanwhile, in Uzbekistan, preparedness is in full speed with the UN team’s collaboration with government counterparts. UN staff have been trained for emergency communications with the Ministry of Health and various other government agencies. The training included monitoring of public opinion, countering false information and working with communities. This complements a UN-backed campaign with the Government on COVID-19 in Uzbek and Russian.

REFUGEE RESETTLEMENTS SUSPENDED
The UN Refugee Agency and the UN Migration Agency – IOM- today announced that they are temporarily suspending resettlement departures for refugees.
This decision is the result of the measures countries are taking to reduce entry into their territories due to COVID-19.  This means that travel arrangements for resettling refugees are currently subject to severe disruptions. Some countries have also placed a hold on resettlement activities given their public health situation, which impacts their capacity to receive newly resettled refugees.
The two agencies said that they are also concerned that international travel could increase the exposure of refugees to the virus.
The 2 agencies are appealing to States, and working in close coordination with them, to ensure that movements can continue for the most critical emergency cases wherever possible.
The suspensions will begin to take effect within the next few days. Both agencies look forward to resuming full resettlement travel as soon as prudence and logistics permit.

MALI
In Mali, in support of prevention measures announced by the Government, the UN Peacekeeping Mission has activated its business continuity plan and put in place the following measures:
All Mission staff -civilians, police and military personnel – coming back to Mali from a country impacted by Covid-19 will be systematically placed in self-isolation for 14 days. The Mission has made the necessary arrangements and set up a transit center for this purpose.
Public meetings, workshops or seminars will be approved on a case-by-case basis, and telecommuting arrangements are being made to limit the staff’s physical presence at the Mission headquarters in Bamako.
The peacekeeping Mission will continue to coordinate with the Government to ensure the implementation of the most appropriate measures.
And around the world, other peacekeeping missions are preparing to implement measures to protect local populations as well as UN personnel.

SUDAN
In Sudan, the Humanitarian Country Team has finalized a COVID-19 Response Plan in support of the Sudanese government's national plan. 
UNICEF has mobilized USD$370,000 for Infection Prevention and Control  supplies for use in points of entries in Sudan as well as in ambulances.
UNFPA, for its part, is working with the temporary quarantine teams to ensure that women and girls of reproductive age that are admitted receive so-called dignity kits, which include items to ensure basic hygiene and comfort.
 
ILO
The International Labour Organization states that the economic and labour crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic could increase global unemployment by almost 25 million people.
However, they say, internationally coordinated response, similar to the approach adopted in the response to the 2008-2009 global financial crisis would significantly lower the impact on global unemployment.
ILO’s preliminary assessment note calls for urgent, large-scale and coordinated measures across three pillars: protecting workers in the workplace, stimulating the economy and employment, and supporting jobs and incomes.
These measures include extending social protection, supporting employment retention, and financial and tax relief, including for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. In addition, the note proposes fiscal and monetary policy measures, and lending and financial support for specific sectors.

EDUCATION
UNESCO says that, as of late yesterday (Tuesday), more than 850 million children and youth – roughly half of the world’s student population – are staying away from schools and universities due to the epidemic. Just last week, I think the number was about half a billion.
Nationwide closures are in force in 102 countries and local shutdowns in 11 others, and further increases are expected.
The scale and speed of the closures is an unprecedented challenge for the education sector. Countries around the world are racing to fill the void with distance learning solutions, but the uncertain duration of the closures adds further complications to their efforts.
UNESCO has set up a COVID-19 task force to provide advice and technical assistance to governments working to provide education to students out of school. UNESCO is also holding regular virtual meetings with education ministers from all over the world to share experiences and assess priority needs.
And the organization is also launching a Global COVID-19 Education Coalition that brings together multilateral partners and the private sector, including Microsoft and the Global System for Mobile Communications, the GSMA alliance, to help countries deploy remote learning systems so as to minimize educational disruptions and maintain social contact with learners.

UNICEF
Meanwhile, UNICEF’s Executive Director, Henrietta Fore, issued a message today to reaffirm the agency’s commitment to children around the world.
Ms. Fore said that UNICEF is working to help prevent the spread of the virus among communities in affected countries by providing hygiene and medical kits to schools and health clinics; also by mitigating the impact of the outbreak on children’s access to health, education and social services.
At the same time, she added that UNICEF’s life-saving work to provide children with health, education, nutrition and protection has never been more critical. With millions of children uprooted, impacted by wars, dying from preventable causes, out of school, or missing out on essential vaccines, the need for support has never been greater.

YEMEN
And turning to Yemen. The UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator, Lise Grande, has condemned the continued attacks against health facilities in Taizz, which are threatening services for hundreds of thousands of people.
Preliminary reports indicate that on March 13th, two buildings at the Al-Thawra General Hospital were hit by missiles.
According to WHO and health partners, since the beginning of the war in 2015, hospitals and other medical facilities across Yemen have been the target of 142 attacks. Less than 50 percent of health facilities across Yemen are currently functioning at capacity and those that are operational lack specialists, equipment and medicine.

LIBYA
The UN Mission in Libya expressed deep concerns over the recent increase in abductions and enforced disappearances in towns and cities across Libya, which it says have been conducted by armed groups with total impunity. The Mission renews its call for the full respect of international human rights law and international humanitarian law by parties to the conflict.
The UN Mission also calls for the establishment of an investigative mechanism by the UN Human Rights Council, as the simplest and strongest basis for promoting accountability in Libya.

MOZAMBIQUE
One year after Cyclone Idai made landfall in Mozambique, UNICEF says 2.5 million people, almost half of them children, continue to require humanitarian assistance.
UNICEF and other humanitarian partners are also preparing for the possibility of more frequent extreme weather events.
However, to continue the recovery work that’s been done in a variety of sectors, the agency is calling for additional funding that will also be used to increase the country’s capacity to protect children from natural disasters in the future.

FAO
The Food and Agriculture Organization today launched a publication to help countries preserve critical carbon stores found in peatlands.
Peatlands cover only 3 per cent of the world's surface yet contain as much carbon as all of its vegetation. To avoid the degradation of peatlands and plan for their restoration, FAO has released a tool to map to monitor them.

SENIOR PERSONNEL APPOINTMENT
Today, the Secretary-General, following consultations with the Advisory Commission of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, is appointing Philippe Lazzarini of Switzerland as the Agency’s new Commissioner-General. 
The Secretary-General wishes to extend his appreciation and gratitude to Christian Saunders who will continue to serve as Acting Commissioner-General until Mr. Lazzarini assumes his post.
Mr. Lazzarini brings to the position more than thirty years of experience in humanitarian assistance and international coordination in conflict and post-conflict areas with the UN, the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) and the private sector. And, most recently he served in Lebanon as Deputy Special Coordinator, as well as Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator.