HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
WEDNESDAY, 15 APRIL 2020
SECRETARY-GENERAL
In a statement issued last night, the Secretary-General reiterated his belief that the World Health Organization must be supported, as it is absolutely critical to the world’s efforts to win the war against COVID-19.
He also made clear once more that, once we have finally turned the page on this epidemic, there must be a time to look back fully to understand how such a disease emerged and spread its devastation so quickly across the globe, and how all those involved reacted to the crisis. But now is not that time.
And as it is not that time, it is also not the time to reduce the resources for the World Health Organization or any other humanitarian organization that is working in the fight against the virus.
As he said before, now is the time for unity and for the international community to work together in solidarity to stop this virus and its shattering consequences.
AFRICA GROUP
As part of the Secretary-General's regular briefings with groups of Member States, he has met with the Africa Group today, telling them that the current crisis over the pandemic has wide-ranging implications, and that the United Nations and African countries are working together across many challenges and concerns at this time.
COVID-19/CHILDREN’S REPORT
Tomorrow, the Secretary-General will be launching a report on the impact of the pandemic on children. We expect the report to be shared under embargo today.
LIBYA
In Libya, the United Nations Mission in the country (UNSMIL) is alarmed by the continuing escalation of violence in Libya, particularly by the intensification of fighting in the past few days, resulting in civilian casualties and risking new waves of displacement.
The UN Mission notes with grave concern reports of attacks on civilians and allegations of human rights violations in western coastal towns recently seized by the Government of National Accord (GNA) forces. The Mission also condemns the Libyan National Army (LNA) forces indiscriminate bombardment of Tripoli with rockets, of which many have landed on civilian neighborhoods, resulting in casualties.
UNSMIL warns that acts of revenge will further escalate the conflict, and lead to a cycle of revenge that threatens the social fabric in Libya. The Mission calls on parties to the conflict to de-escalate, curb incitement, and immediately respect the repeated calls by the Secretary-General and international partners for a humanitarian pause.
Libya has reported 35 COVID-19 cases and one death and is at high risk of further spread due to the protracted conflict, ongoing insecurity and of course, a weak health system.
Meanwhile, following the incident of an armed group shutting off water for a week affecting more than 2 million people, water is now gradually returning to Tripoli and other parts of the western region.
COVID-19/CHILDREN
A number of UN agencies – including UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO) and others – as well as partners today said that millions of children are at increased risk of harm as their lives move increasingly online during the lockdown during the pandemic.
More than 1.5 billion children and young people have been affected by school closures worldwide and many of these students are now taking classes and socializing online.
Spending more time on virtual platforms can leave children vulnerable to online sexual exploitation and grooming and may also expose children to potentially harmful and violent content as well as greater risk of cyberbullying.
A new technical note urges governments, ICT industries, educators and parents to be alert, to take urgent measures to mitigate potential risks, and ensure children’s online experiences are safe and positive during COVID-19.
COVID-19/AFRICA/LATIN AMERICA
Our colleagues at the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) today cautioned in a new policy brief that many commodity-dependent economies in Africa and Latin America will likely face an economic crisis before they are directly hit by COVID-19, which will further limit their ability to handle a health crisis.
The new brief warns that action is needed now to avert a full-blown debt crisis, as these economies are in a significantly tighter fiscal position today than they were in 2009 when they were hit by the global financial crisis, making it very difficult for them to borrow externally and finance large fiscal stimulus.
It stresses that the international community should help highly indebted commodity-exporters to reduce the likelihood of a debt crisis through forbearance and standstills.
The full brief is on DESA’s website.
COVID-19/LATIN AMERICA/HUMAN RIGHTS
The High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet today urged countries in Latin America, and elsewhere in the world, to open up their borders to their own nationals stranded abroad, many of them with little or no access to healthcare. This comes in response to a weeks-long impasse that developed on the Bolivia-Chile border last month when Bolivia closed it borders and left many of its own nationals who were working abroad without the possibility of returning to their own country.
Ms. Bachelet said that under international law, everyone has the right to return to their home – even during a pandemic and called on States to do all they can to ensure the safe, dignified and voluntary return, as well as sustainable reintegration of their own nationals.
She also welcomed the cooperation and steps taken by Chile and Bolivia to end the impasse. The UN has been assisting the local authorities in Chile to provide basic supplies and services for the returning migrants, as well as assessing their needs and promoting their protection.
COVID-19/INDIA
In India, the World Health Organization said it will work with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to leverage the strategies that helped the country win its war against polio into the response to COVID-19 outbreak.
India eliminated polio in 2014.
WHO’s national polio surveillance network will be engaged to strengthen COVID-19 surveillance and WHO field staff will continue to support immunization and elimination of TB and other diseases.
COVID-19/MYANMAR
Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that our UN staff in Myanmar, together with national and international partners, is supporting health authorities and scaling up efforts to prevent and control the outbreak of COVID-19 and improve access to health care in humanitarian settings.
The UN is focusing on vulnerable communities and frontline health workers. Myanmar’s Humanitarian Fund has mobilized the first reserve allocation of $2 million to support a coordinated response for displaced people and other vulnerable crisis-affected people in Chin, Rakhine, Kachin, Shan and Kayin states.
The UN team in Myanmar, together with national authorities, have also mobilized funds to procure necessary medical equipment to conduct 20,000 COVID-19 tests. This week, the UN will also deliver much needed Personal Protective Equipment, including 150,000 surgical gloves and 500,000 surgical masks. Those will be delivered to the Ministry of Health to support frontline health workers.
COVID-19/LEBANON
Our peacekeepers in Lebanon provided medical and personal protective equipment to their host communities in south Lebanon in their collective efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 virus.
The peacekeeping mission’s Spanish, French and Ghanaian peacekeepers yesterday handed out those life-saving items within their respective areas of responsibility.
The ongoing UNIFIL support to the local communities is matched by the Mission’s robust precautionary measures that have been put in place, since the beginning of the outbreak, in order to prevent the pandemic spread. UNIFIL seeks to improve capabilities and enhance efforts to prevent the spread of the highly infectious virus.
COVID-19/NIGERIA
In Nigeria, our colleagues there tell us that a shipment of ventilators and other essential medical supplies procured by the UN in the country arrived yesterday.
The shipment, which is the first of several, also includes personal protective supplies, which will be deployed throughout Nigeria to health facilities in need.
The UN Resident Coordinator, Edward Kallon, said that the UN in Nigeria is actively mobilizing resources to support the Government’s strategy of containing the virus and adequately caring for those who are ill.
As of 13 April, there were 343 confirmed cases in Nigeria, with 91 discharged and 10 deaths.
EBOLA DRC
In the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. up until Friday, the country had gone 54 days without a confirmed case. Forty days had passed since the last person known to have Ebola tested negative and was discharged from treatment. Authorities were days away from being able to declare the outbreak over.
However, three new cases have been confirmed since Friday, including two people who died. It is likely that additional cases will be identified.
In Geneva, the World Health Organization’s Emergency Committee met for the 5th time yesterday and concluded that the Ebola outbreak still constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
Dr. Tedros, reiterated that huge progress has been realized to contain this outbreak in very difficult circumstances. But the work of the medical teams in the country is not over.
The Committee noted that, in addition to insecurity, the COVID-19 pandemic brings new challenges to an already complex operation.
DRC – ITURI VIOLENCE
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, since the beginning of April, people in the province of Ituri have been the victims of a new spike in violence.
Earlier today, Leila Zerrougui, the head of the UN peacekeeping mission there, condemned the killings in the province’s Djugu territory. People in this area are facing particularly brutal and heinous violence, she said, including murders, looting and arson.
In the areas most affected by violence, UN peacekeepers are strengthening their presence in support of the Congolese army. They are also increasing patrols, as well as deterrence operations and reconnaissance flights to locate armed combatants.
The Special Representative also shared her concerns about misinformation spread in the area and designed to undermine the work and impartiality of the UN Mission.
As the Congolese population faces multiple threats to health and security, Ms. Zerrougui called for unity to protect the most vulnerable.
GREECE
The International Organization for Migration (IOM), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today welcomed the relocation of 12 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children from Greece to Luxembourg.
Germany is also in the process of relocating another group of unaccompanied children from Greece, who are due to arrive this coming weekend.
These are the first relocations under a European Union initiative for 1,600 unaccompanied children in which eight Member States have pledged to participate.
The Agencies highlighted that the progress made is in line with the children’s interests, considers their international protection needs and takes into account existing family ties.
As of early April, there were more than 5,200 unaccompanied and separated children in Greece in urgent need of durable solutions, including expedited registration, family reunification and relocation.
