HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
TUESDAY, 9 APRIL 2024
DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL/TRIP ANNOUNCEMENT
This evening, at the invitation of the Federal Government of Belgium and the European Commission, our Deputy Secretary-General, Amina J. Mohammed, will travel to Brussels, Belgium. Ms. Mohammed, on behalf of the Secretary-General, will take part in the opening of the EU Global Gateway High-Level Event on Education and engage with European Union Officials, senior government officials and other stakeholders attending the High-Level Event.
The Global Gateway High-Level Event on Education will kickstart a series of UN events this year aimed at taking stock of global efforts to transform education and achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4.
The Deputy Secretary-General will return to New York on Thursday, 11 April.
SENIOR APPOINTMENT
The Secretary-General has appointed Kirstine Damkjær of Denmark as Deputy Executive Director, Delivery and Partnerships of the United Nations Office for Project Services, otherwise known as UNOPS.
She brings over 25 years of global senior-level management experience, including significant expertise in infrastructure, development finance and project implementation. She currently serves as the Non-Executive Director and committee chair of Africa Finance Corporation, a multilateral financial institution, alongside a wide range of board and advisory leadership roles.
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that yesterday, OCHA and the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as other agencies assisted with the organization of dignified burials for unidentified bodies at Al ShifaHospital, and that follows the end of the Israeli siege there last week.
The UN Mine Action Services and UN Department for Safety and Security also supported Gaza’s Health Ministry with proper burials, either onsite or nearby.
In a social media post, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of WHO, said the bodies were previously lying under dirt or plastic sheeting, and that dignified burials allow them to be identified later with forensic examinations, giving some consolation to their loved ones.
COLOMBIA
This morning, Carlos Ruiz Massieu, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Colombia and head of the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia, briefed Security Council members. He said Colombia has reached an important juncture in relation to its ambitions to implement the 2016 Final Peace Agreement. There is deep desire for peace in the country that extends from the highest levels of government and state institutions, across civil society and to vulnerable communities in the regions still afflicted by conflict, he said. However, he noted that the key challenge is to translate that political will and drive into results on the ground.
Also, this afternoon, the Security Council will have a closed meeting to discuss the letter sent by Guyana on 5 April, and the Assistant Secretary-General for the Americas, Miroslav Jenča, will brief the Council members.
HAITI
The World Food Programme (WFP) continues its daily hot meals distribution in Haiti and yesterday, along with local and national partners they delivered 22,000 hot meals to displaced people in the capital Port-au-Prince.
Meanwhile, between 5- 7 April, the International Organization for Migration and its partners distributed 132,000 liters of water in five displacement sites across the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area.
On the health front, the situation remains extremely fragile with at least 50 per cent of health facilities in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area being closed or severely disrupted due, of course, to the ongoing violence.
Humanitarian partners continue to support through mobile clinics in displacement sites and the provision of medical equipment and supplies to the remaining functioning hospitals.
Outside of Port-au-Prince, WFP continues to operate their school canteen programmes and to provide cash transfers to families.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, after more than 20 years of service in the DRC, UN Peacekeepers from the People’s Republic of China are leaving the country. A ceremony was organized today to pay tribute to their contributions to the consolidation of peace and security in the province of South Kivu, where they were deployed.
RWANDA
The UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, issued a statement today on the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. During her visit to the country, she also reflected upon Rwanda’s story of rebuilding and reconciliation in the past 30 years, while underlining the dangers in the rise of genocide denial.
HEPATITIS REPORT
The World Health Organization (WHO) today sounded the alarm on viral hepatitis infections that claim over 3,000 lives each day – with 1.3 million deaths per year – while the health agency fears that the number of lives lost due to hepatitis is increasing.
A new report released today highlights that despite better tools for diagnosis and treatment, testing and treatment coverage rates have stalled.
MOZAMBIQUE
In Mozambique, following the sinking of a makeshift ferry on Sunday in the country, a team including representatives from the UN team in Mozambique has been deployed to the area to work on a primary assessment and support the national authorities’ response efforts, as well as to provide support to survivors and families impacted by this tragedy. Our colleagues on the ground stand ready to assist Mozambique and reiterate its willingness to support the Government in its response to disasters.
In a statement, the UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Mozambique, Dr. Catherine Sozi, said that she is deeply saddened by the death of all the people who died in the accident, many of them children.
BRIEFINGS
On Thursday, the noon briefing guest will be Kanni Wignaraja, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Regional Director for Asia. She will brief reports on UNDP’s report on the socioeconomic situation in Myanmar.
