LIVE Noon briefing by Stephane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General of the United Nations, and by Reem Abaza, Spokesperson of the President of the General Assembly.
Highlights:
SG/hate speech
SG/WW2 remembrance
COVID/Pacific
COVID/resident coordinators
Iraq
Syria
Horn of Africa
Somalia
Mediterranean
UNHCR/DRC
Smallpox
Highlights of the briefing by the Spokesperson of the President of the General Assembly:
PGA Townhall meeting with Member States
Launching of an Alliance for Poverty Eradication in June
NAM
Youth Townhall Meeting.
SECRETARY-GENERAL/HATE SPEECH
The Secretary-General today released an appeal to address and counter COVID-19-related hate speech.
The Secretary-General said the virus does not care who we are, where we live, and what we believe or about any other distinction, and yet, the pandemic continues to unleash a tsunami of hate, xenophobia, scapegoating and scare-mongering.
He stressed that we must act now to strengthen the immunity of our societies against this virus of hate. He called on political leaders to show solidarity with all members of their societies and build and reinforce social cohesion.
The Secretary-General also called on educational institutions to focus on digital literacy. He called on media companies to do more to flag and remove harmful content. And he called on civil society to strengthen outreach to vulnerable people, and he called on religious actors to serve as models of mutual respect.
Finally, Mr. Guterres asked every citizen to stand up against hate, to treat each other with dignity and to take every opportunity to spread kindness.
ERADICATION OF SMALLPOX
Today, as you may know, is the 40th anniversary of the eradication of smallpox. It is the first and only human disease eradicated on a global scale through the collaboration of countries worldwide. Until it was wiped out, smallpox had plagued humanity for at least 3,000 years, killing 300 million people in the 20th century alone – that’s four million people annually.
Just moments ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) held a press briefing to commemorate this milestone. WHO Executive Director Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that many of the tools used to tackle smallpox are the same tools that were used to fight Ebola and now COVID-19. He added that the WHO is working with partners to develop a vaccine, the tool that ultimately helped eradicate smallpox.
Like smallpox, he said, COVID-19 is giving us an opportunity to change the trajectory of global health and to build a safer, healthier world for everyone.
The UN Postal Administration unveiled a stamp today to honour the millions of people working together, from world leaders and international organizations to rural doctors and community health workers, to eradicate smallpox.
Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=08%20May%202020
