DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL/COVID-19 RESPONSE
The Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, today launched two efforts: the framework for immediate socio-economic response and recovery to COVID, which puts into practice the Secretary-General’s report, “Shared Responsibility, Global Solidarity” that he released in March, as well as “Women Rising for All,” which puts women leaders at the forefront calling the world to action for the responses that we will need on the health, the economic and the humanitarian front. 
Ms. Mohammed said that COVID is a pandemic touching all corners of the world, and we will need our solidarity to rise to the occasion of the global response that is needed at a magnitude that we have never seen before. 
The new framework, she said, focuses on ensuring that our health services are protected; ensuring that people have access to social protection and basic services; protect jobs; supporting elements of the fiscal and financial stimulus macroeconomic framework; and community engagement to build the resilience of the most vulnerable.
The Deputy Secretary-General also said that we will be rising to this occasion with women at the forefront.
Her full remarks are available online.

SECRETARY-GENERAL/SECURITY COUNCIL MEETING ON YOUTH
The Secretary-General spoke this morning at the Security Council’s open video-teleconference on youth, peace and security.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he said that young people are feeling the impact acutely, from lost jobs to family stress, mental health and other hardships, with more than 1.54 billion children out of school.
Even before the current crisis, the Secretary-General noted that young people were facing enormous challenges. He pointed to how one in every five young people were already not in education, training or employment, and how one in every four was affected by violence or conflict.
He said that young people are still finding ways to engage, support each other, and to demand and drive change, including in our battle against COVID-19.
Just five years after the adoption of Security Council resolution 2250 on youth, the Secretary-General said that encouraging steps are being taken to enable young people to play their essential role in building peaceful and just societies.
At today’s meeting, the Secretary-General issued a call to action on youth, peace and security.
First, he said we must do more to address these challenges, guided by the findings of the Independent Progress Study on Youth Peace and Security. Second, we must invest in young people’s participation, organizations and initiatives. Third, we must strengthen human rights protections and protect the civic space on which youth participation depends. Fourth, we must emerge from the COVID-19 crisis with a determination to recover better – massively increasing our investment in young people’s capacities as we deliver the Sustainable Development Goals.
 
YEMEN
The UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, is concerned by the 25 April declaration by the Southern Transitional Council (STC). He said today that the latest turn of events is disappointing, especially as the city of Aden and other areas in the south have yet to recover from flooding and are facing the risk of COVID-19.
Mr. Griffiths further called for expediting the implementation of the Riyadh Agreement, with the support of the Coalition led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The success of this agreement should deliver benefits to the people in the south, particularly in terms of improved public services and security, he said.
Over the weekend, the Head of the United Nations Mission to Support the Hudaydah Agreement (UNMHA), Lt. Gen. Abhijit Guha, said that he has taken the decision to temporarily reduce the personnel footprint of the Mission. This is in line with United Nations headquarters guidelines in regard to the coronavirus pandemic.
It is within this context that the UN-flagged Vessel, which served as a temporary headquarters for the UN Mission, departed Hudaydah on 24 April, carrying those Mission personnel who are temporarily repositioning. Some of those staff members will be temporarily located in Amman, and will continue to support the Mission in Hudaydah, until the pandemic-related travel restrictions allow for the return of all personnel to Yemen.
 
SYRIA
The UN is concerned over the impact of COVID-19 on people across Syria, many of them displaced and particularly vulnerable.
To date, the Syrian Government has confirmed 43 cases, including 14 people who have recovered and three fatalities. The most recent case was confirmed on 26 April.
WHO is leading UN efforts to support preparation and mitigation measures across Syria, including in the north-west and north-east. 
The UN continues to step up its efforts to mitigate the virus’s spread, with a focus on enhancing the capacity to detect, diagnose and prevent spread of COVID-19 to the extent possible, ensure adequate surveillance of entry points, and provide protective equipment and training of health workers.
 
HUMAN RIGHTS
As Governments face the formidable challenge of protecting people from COVID-19, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, today called on them to ensure human rights are not violated under the guise of exceptional or emergency measures.
To help guide the response, today, the Human Rights Office issued a new policy guidance on emergency and exceptional measures.
The guidance document stresses that, as in normal times, law enforcement officials should adhere to the principles of legality, necessity, proportionality and precaution.
Ms. Bachelet added that any restrictions on human rights imposed as part of a state of emergency need to be necessary, proportionate, and non-discriminatory. They also need to be limited in duration and key safeguards against excesses must be put in place.
Certain rights, including the right to life, the prohibition against torture and other ill-treatment, and the right not to be arbitrarily detained continue to apply in all circumstances.
The guidance published today sets out clearly that the measures should not only be necessary to achieve a legitimate public health objective, but that they should also be the “least intrusive” approach required to achieve that result. 
Exceptional measures, or a state of emergency, should also be subject to proper parliamentary, judicial and public oversight, the High Commissioner concluded.
 
COVID-19/EUROPE
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) today called on European countries to safeguard the many good practices and redouble their efforts to strengthen asylum systems in Europe.
Measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, such as physical distancing and restrictions on movements and gatherings, have impacted the functioning of asylum systems in Europe. UNHCR warned that consequences can be serious for individuals concerned as well as States.
It noted that it is encouraging that nearly two thirds of European countries have found ways to manage their borders effectively, while allowing access to their territories for people seeking asylum.
Among these measures, registration procedures have been simplified, adjusted to permit written or electronic submissions, or frontloaded to coincide with medical screenings, while automatizing the issuance of documentation.
Harnessing the good practices deployed across Europe, UNHCR’s Regional Bureau for Europe has issued a compilation of good practices and practical recommendations. These offer practical support to States in ensuring access to territory and asylum, addressing movement restrictions or in communicating effectively with asylum-seekers and refugee populations on COVID-19 risks.
 
EDUCATION
Over the weekend, UNESCO launched a global education coalition to support countries in scaling up distance learning and reaching children and youth who are most at risk.
The Coalition seeks to unlock solutions that will not only support students and teachers now, but through the recovery process, with a focus on inclusion and equity.
Multilateral partners include the World Bank, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the Asian Development Bank. The private sector is also participating, with companies such as Microsoft, GSMA, Google and Coursera. And non-profit organizations like Dubai Cares and Sesame Street are also mobilizing their resources to bring learning to the more than 1.5 billion students in 165 countries affected by school closures.
Media outlets are also invited to join the Coalition.