SECRETARY-GENERAL
The Secretary-General is traveling to Moscow today, after having met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara just now.
In his meeting with the Turkish President, the Secretary-General expressed his support for Turkey’s ongoing diplomatic efforts in relation to the war in Ukraine.
He and President Erdoğan reaffirmed that their common objective is to end the war as soon as possible and to create conditions to end the suffering of civilians.
They stressed the urgent need for effective access through humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians and deliver much needed assistance to impacted communities.
The President and the Secretary-General agreed to stay in contact to follow up on ongoing initiatives.
They also discussed the impact of the war in Ukraine on regional and global issues, including energy, food and finance.
Tomorrow in Moscow, as we mentioned, the Secretary-General will have a working meeting and lunch with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and will be received by President Vladimir Putin.
UKRAINE
Turning to Ukraine, the UN Crisis Coordinator, Amin Awad, yesterday called for an immediate stop in fighting in Mariupol to allow civilians trapped in the besieged city to safely evacuate. Mr. Awad warned that the lives of tens of thousands of people, including children and the elderly, are at stake in Mariupol.
The call from the Crisis Coordinator comes as hostilities in Ukraine are escalating, causing more civilian casualties, impacting key civilian infrastructure across the country, and hampering aid to people stranded in areas with intense fighting, including Mariupol and Kherson.
Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that according to security reports, airstrikes this morning have destroyed several train stations in the west and north-central Ukraine. During the weekend, shelling impacted several areas around Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kharkiv.
Across the country, and since the war began, the World Health Organization has confirmed more than 160 attacks against health facilities and the UN Human Rights Office has confirmed that 2,400 civilians have been killed. The actual figures are likely to be much higher.
The worsening situation has prompted our humanitarian colleagues to revise the Humanitarian Flash Appeal as they continue to deliver aid to people across Ukraine. More than $2.25 billion is now required for needs inside Ukraine; more than double the amount requested when we launched the appeal on 1 March, a few days after the war began.
Our colleagues stress that continued international support will be essential to enable humanitarians in Ukraine to reach those whose lives have been upended by the war. For its part, the International Organization for Migration said that is has begun rehabilitating unused and damaged buildings including school dormitories and hotels to provide safer temporary accommodation to internally displaced persons in the Zakarpattia Region, in Ukraine. This is part of a new shelter rehabilitation programme targeting almost 1 million internally displaced persons.
FINANCING FOR DEVELOPMENT FORUM
This morning, the Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, spoke on behalf of the Secretary-General at the opening of the Financing for Development Forum.
She said that the global economy is under severe stress and that the Sustainable Development Goals are in need of urgent rescue. “Financing for developing is an essential part of the solution,” she said, adding that so far, the global response has fallen far short.
That is why the Secretary-General has established the Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy and Finance: to ensure high-level political leadership; to get ahead of the perfect storm of food security, energy, and financing challenges; and to implement a coordinated global response.
And you’ll be able to hear more about the Forum from our guest today, the President of the Economic and Social Council, Collen Vixen Kelapile.
SECRETARY-GENERAL/SUDAN
You will have seen that we issued a statement this morning on Sudan, in which the Secretary-General deplored the killings of civilians in Kreinik locality, West Darfur, as well as the attacks on health facilities on 24 April. He calls for an immediate end to the violence. The Secretary-General extends his deepest condolences to the families of those killed and wishes a speedy recovery to those injured.
The Secretary-General underscores that the primary responsibility for the protection of civilians in Darfur rests with the Government of Sudan. He takes note of efforts undertaken by the Sudanese authorities to address the situation, including a commitment to evacuate injured civilians and calls for the acceleration of the deployment of the joint security forces as per the Juba Peace Agreement.
The Secretary-General stresses the importance of strengthening security in Darfur including through the implementation of the Juba Peace Agreement, bolstering the rule of law, safeguarding human rights, and fully implementing the national plan for the protection of civilians. He calls for unhindered humanitarian access and an independent investigation of this and other acts of intercommunal violence, to ensure that those responsible for the violence are held accountable.
SUDAN/HUMANITARIAN
Further on this, our humanitarian colleagues stress that the recent flare-up of clashes worsens the dire humanitarian situation in Kreinik, where more than half of the population – which is some 265,700 people – were already believed to be in need of humanitarian aid at the beginning of this year.
Humanitarian partners will undertake an immediate needs assessment and respond as soon as the security situation allows.
SOUTH SUDAN
The UN Mission in South Sudan today strongly condemned the widespread sexual violence, as well as killings, including beheadings, the burning alive of civilians, and attacks on aid workers in Leer County.
The Mission says that these are among the human rights violations documented during a surge in violence carried out by armed youth from Koch and Mayendit counties between February and April of this year.
The UN Mission has carried out ten verification missions and says that 72 civilians were killed, and 64 cases of sexual violence have been recorded.
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Nicholas Haysom, said he is appalled by the horrific attacks on civilians, stressing that we must all do everything we can to ensure that victims and survivors get the justice they deserve and receive the care and support they need.
Initial reports say that some 40,000 people have fled the violence in Leer, with thousands reportedly crossing the Nile to Fangak in Jonglei State.
The UN Mission has deployed additional peacekeepers to conduct regular patrols, including night patrols in Leer town. Peacekeepers are protecting displaced people and aid workers, but the Mission stressed that the protection of civilians is first and foremost the responsibility of the Government. The Mission welcomes initial steps taken to form an investigation committee and the deployment of the military to restore security.
MIDDLE EAST
Tor Wennesland, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, briefed the Security Council this morning. He said that in Jerusalem, the situation remains relatively calm despite inflammatory rhetoric and violent clashes between Palestinians and Israeli Security Forces (ISF) that have taken place at the Holy Sites.
He told Council members that there is no justification for acts of terrorism or violence against civilians. Violence, provocations and incitement must stop immediately and be unequivocally condemned by all, he said.
Mr. Wennesland also reiterated that political, religious and community leaders on all sides must do their part to reduce tensions, uphold the status quo at the Holy Sites, and ensure that their sanctity is respected by all.
In this regard, he welcomed statements by senior Israeli officials reiterating Israel’s commitment to upholding the status quo and ensuring that only Muslims would be allowed to pray on the Holy Esplanade.
Over the weekend, we issued readouts of the Secretary-General’s phone calls with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. In those calls, the Secretary-General discussed the situation at the Holy Sites in Jerusalem and efforts to lower tensions, end provocations and unilateral steps, and restore calm. The Secretary-General reiterated that the status quo at the Holy Sites must be upheld and respected.
LEBANON
Last night, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, detected a rocket being launched from south Lebanon toward Israel.
Force Commander Major General Aroldo Lázaro was in immediate contact with authorities on both sides of the Blue Line to urge restraint.
Nonetheless, the Israel Defense Forces fired back several dozen shells into Lebanon.
Major General Lázaro called on all parties to avoid further escalation, expressing his concerns about the disproportionate response.
Once the shelling ended, UNIFIL began an investigation to determine the facts.
Peacekeepers are also working with the Lebanese Armed Forces to strengthen security throughout UNIFIL’s area of operations and reduce the risk of further provocative acts.
MALI
The UN Mission in Mali strongly condemned yesterday's attacks on the Malian Armed Forces in Sévaré, Niono and Bapho. Several soldiers were killed during these attacks. At the request of the Malian armed forces, the UN Mission immediately deployed a rapid reaction force in Sévaré.
In a tweet, the peacekeeping mission expressed its solidarity with the Malian Armed Forces and offered its sincere condolences to them and to the Malian people.
GREAT LAKES
In a statement issued over the weekend, the Secretary-General welcomed the efforts of Kenya’s President, Uhuru Kenyatta, and other Eastern African leaders to promote peace, stability and development in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the greater East African region. He commended the leaders of the region for their determination in working towards these objectives.
He urges all local armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to participate unconditionally in the political process, and all foreign armed groups to disarm and return unconditionally and immediately to their respective countries of origin.
The full statement is online.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
Also, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the World Health Organization is telling us that health authorities in the country have declared an outbreak of Ebola after a case was confirmed in Mbandaka, a city in the north-western Equateur Province. This is the third outbreak in the province since 2018.
So far, just one case has been confirmed, a 31-year-old man, who died on 21 April.
Efforts to stem the current outbreak are already underway. WHO experts based in the DRC are supporting the national authorities to ramp up key outbreak response tasks including testing, contact tracing, treatment as well as working with communities to support the public health measures to prevent infections.
Vaccination is also set to kick off in the coming days. WHO said that many people in Mbandaka are already vaccinated against Ebola, which should help reduce the impact of the disease.
KENYA
And we issued a statement over the weekend to express the Secretary-General’s sadness following the death of Mwai Kibaki, former President of the Republic of Kenya. He extends his deepest condolences to the Government and the people of Kenya.
Former President Kibaki will be remembered as a leader who made an important contribution to the development of Kenya.
NIGERIA
We join the Head of our Office for West Africa and the Sahel, Mahamat Saleh Annadif, to express our sincere condolences to the families of the victims and to the Government and people of Nigeria, following the tragic explosion that claimed the lives of about 100 people in a gasoline refinery in Imo State, in southern Nigeria.
We wish a speedy recovery to those injured in the explosion.
BRAZIL
And our UN team in Brazil, led by Resident Coordinator Silvia Rucks, continues supporting authorities to respond to the multiple impacts of the pandemic, focusing on promoting sustainable development. More than 14 million students benefitted from UN-backed home-schooling initiatives led by local and national authorities to date.
Our UN team has also provided technical support to national and local authorities to safely reopen schools that were closed for 52 weeks and is now working to locate and re-enroll students that have dropped out. Through the Joint Sustainable Development Goals Fund, 1.5 million vulnerable people - especially children up to six years old and their families - were reached with health, education, and social assistance services in more than 3,000 municipalities so far. In partnership with the Federal Government, we also trained 20,000 professionals that provide direct assistance to families.
A group of 13 UN entities also assisted more than 140,000 Venezuelans in Brazil with shelter, food, education, health, and integration services. On the health front, nearly 4,000 health centres received support to maintain essential immunization services since the onset of the pandemic and nearly 14 million vaccines landed via COVAX to support the national vaccination drive.
HYBRID BRIEFING TODAY
As I mentioned the guest today will be the President of the Economic and Social Council, Collen Vixen Kelapile. He will join us in this room to brief on the Financing for Development Forum and the high-level political Forum on Sustainable Development.
Then at 1.15 p.m., there will be a hybrid briefing here on the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples. The speakers will be Dario José Mejia Montalvo, Chair-elect of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and Leader of the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia; and Rose Anne Archibald, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations.
NOON BRIEFING GUEST/HYBRID BRIEFING TOMORROW
Tomorrow, my guest will be Mami Mizutori, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction and head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. She will brief on the UN Disaster Risk Reduction's Global Assessment on Risk 2022.
Then at 1:30 p.m. there will be a hybrid press briefing on the forthcoming 55th Session of the UN Commission on Population and Development. Speakers will include Ambassador Enrique A. Manalo, Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations and Chair of the fifty-fifth session of the Commission on Population and Development.
So that was a mouthful and now we’ll turn to your questions. Yes, James and then Edie.
