United Nations published this video item, entitled “Ethiopia, Yemen, Afghanistan & other topics – Daily Press Briefing (17 November 2021)” – below is their description.
Highlights:
– Ethiopia/Secretary-General
– Ethiopia/Humanitarian
– Yemen
– Security Council/Afghanistan
– Security Council/Somalia
– Belarus-Poland border
– Central African Republic
– Uganda
– COVID-19/Fiji
ETHIOPIA/SECRETARY-GENERAL
We issued a statement last night in which the Secretary-General reiterated his call for the immediate release of UN staff members detained in Ethiopia.
As far as the Secretary-General is aware, the staff members are being held without charge, and no specific information has been provided regarding the reasons for their arrest. United Nations personnel carry out critical and impartial work in Ethiopia.
The Secretary-General stresses the obligation of respecting the privileges and immunities of United Nations personnel, both international and Ethiopian, as well as protecting United Nations personnel and other humanitarian workers in Ethiopia, including from arbitrary detention.
The Secretary-General expresses his concern over reports of arbitrary arrests and detentions, which serve to widen divisions and resentment between groups.
He calls upon the authorities to publicly and unequivocally speak out against the targeting of any particular ethnic group or groups and to demonstrate their commitment to human rights and the rule of law.
The course of military conflict will not bring lasting peace and stability to Ethiopia. The Secretary-General urges the parties to end hostilities and prioritize the welfare of civilians. Safe and unhindered humanitarian access must be restored urgently.
The Secretary-General underlines that the challenges facing Ethiopia can only be resolved through dialogue involving all Ethiopians.
ETHIOPIA/HUMANITARIAN
Also on Ethiopia, we have a humanitarian update on the situation in the northern part of the country which continue to be volatile and highly unpredictable.
Humanitarian operations remain heavily constrained due to insecurity, bureaucratic impediments and other factors.
Tens of thousands of people are reportedly displaced in Amhara and Afar regions because of active fighting in multiple locations.
Between 4 and 10 November, some 10,000 people received food assistance left in Tigray. This is only about 1.2 per cent of the at least 870,000 people targeted for assistance on average per week.
As of 15 November, there are fewer than 10,000 metric tons of food stocks left in Tigray.
The ongoing fuel and cash shortage is also significantly undermining the ability of humanitarian organizations to distribute available supplies within Tigray.
Meanwhile, humanitarian partners are scaling up the response to areas where it is possible in the Afar and Amhara regions. Nearly 150,000 people were provided with food aid in both regions last week.
We continue to call on all parties to the conflict to urgently and immediately facilitate free, sustained, and safe movement of humanitarian workers and supplies in Tigray, Amhara and Afar.
About 8 million people in northern Ethiopia are targeted for humanitarian assistance until the end of the year.
Humanitarian operations throughout Ethiopia face a funding gap of $1.3 billion, including $350 million for the response in Tigray.
Full Highlights:
United Nations YouTube Channel
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