LIVE Noon briefing by Stephane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Highlights:
COVID/ILO
COVID/Mauritania
COVID/South Asia
Syria
DRC
Central African Republic
Niger
School meals
UNCTAD/privacy
PRESS BRIEFING BY THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
The Secretary-General will be with us virtually and hold a press briefing tomorrow, starting at noon. He will discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, his call for a global ceasefire and many other related topics.
SECURITY COUNCIL
In the Security Council, Geir Pedersen, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria, told Council members that he strongly believes that Syria needs a ceasefire arrangement that results in sustained calm and is nationwide in scope.
Briefing members by videoconference, he said we cannot afford hostilities, which would surely lead to another surge in displaced vulnerable communities. We could not afford this scenario before the pandemic, he said; and the price could only be higher now.
Mr. Pedersen welcomed the fact that there has been significant calm in many areas of Syria – especially relative to the apexes of violence of previous years. He said we have not witnessed all-out offensives nor further displacements since early March. But he added this is an uneasy and fragile calm in both north-west and north-east Syria – noting that just yesterday, a bomb in a market in Afrin reportedly killed more than 40 people. And our colleagues working for the UN System in Syria strongly condemned that attack.
This afternoon, Mark Lowcock, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, will be briefing Security Council members by videoconference on the humanitarian situation in the country. That briefing is scheduled for 3 pm.
Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=29%20April%202020