Somalia & other topics – Daily Briefing (20 August 2020)

Daily Press Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary-General.

– Mali
– Security Council
– Lebanon
– Central African Republic
– Syria
– Comoros
– Reopening Schools in Africa
– Libya, Asia Floods
– Mauritius Oil Spill
– Financial Contributions

MALI
In Mali, the Peacekeeping Mission reports that the security situation in Bamako remains relatively calm, with no major security incidents. While banks and large businesses have remained closed, most local shops and markets have reopened.
The UN reiterates its call to reject violence, to respect the rule of law and to preserve the rights of all Malians, including those of the President and the senior government officials who remain in detention.
The Un also repeats its call for the immediate release of President Keita and the members of his government. The constitutional and democratic order must be restored as fast as possible.
The UN Mission in Mali remains deeply committed to implementing its mandate in support of the Malian peace process and the Malian people. In this regard, the Mission stresses the need for full freedom of movement to allow the UN to carry out its mandate, to ensure the rotation of uniformed personnel, as well as medical evacuations in particular.
Now, as the work continues, the UN has received reports just a few minutes ago that four peacekeepers were injured this morning when their logistics convoy was impacted by an explosion near Gao.

SECURITY COUNCIL
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia, James Swan, briefed members of the Council. He told diplomats that Somalia, like the rest of the world, is focused on confronting the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic is also having a severely negative economic impact in the country, with the government projecting an 11 percent decline in GDP this year. Mr. Swan added that the UN is working to reinforce the Government’s response. UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes have reoriented their activities to give priority to the pandemic. But even before the virus, Mr. Swan stressed that more than 5 million Somalis were already in need of humanitarian assistance. 2.6 million people in the country are internally displaced, and 1 million are now being impacted by flooding. The country is also dealing with the worst desert locust infestation in 25 years. He added that the coming weeks will be decisive in determining how Somalia will proceed with the planned elections, adding that the UN will continue to support the country in this process.

LEBANON
The UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon, Najat Rochdi, announced that OCHA has begun the disbursement of US $8.5 million from the Lebanon Humanitarian Fund to provide rapid support to families impacted by the devastating Beirut Port explosions. More than 180,000 people are now being reached with life-saving humanitarian assistance, including through funding to NGOs delivering health, food assistance, and protection. The $8.5 million allocation is complementing $6 million allocated by the Central Emergency Response Fund, announced by Mark Lowcock two weeks ago.

Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=20%20August%202020


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