The human rights situation in eastern Ukraine is deteriorating alarmingly, according to a new UN report released today. The High Commissioner for Human Rights has called on those with influence on the armed groups to do their utmost to rein in people who seem bent on tearing the country apart.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
Said Djinnit, sent to Nigeria as a High-Level Representative, concluded his four-day visit, where he reiterated the Secretary-General’s strong condemnation of the abduction last month of innocent girls in Chibok. The United Nations has begun preparations of an initiative that includes immediate support to the affected families, the population and the girls after their release.
The Secretary-General is in Sweden today for the Global Forum on Migration and Development. At the opening ceremony, he said more than 1 in 30 people on earth is a migrant. He said he remained seriously concerned about the crises unfolding in the Mediterranean and elsewhere, adding that the loss of life is unacceptable.
Said Djinnit, the Secretary-General’s high-level representative tasked to discuss the fate of the abducted girls, met with UN officials and members of the diplomatic community yesterday upon his arrival in Abuja. Discussions focused on ways in which the United Nations can support efforts to safely return the girls to their families and facilitate their reintegration.
The UN Mission in South Sudan reports incidents of fighting between the Sudan People’s Liberation Army and opposition forces over the weekend. The UN Mission condemns the fighting and asks the parties to implement the commitments that they have signed into action on the ground.
The Secretary-General has asked his Special Representative for West Africa, Said Djinnit, to travel to Abuja as his high-level representative to Nigeria. Mr. Djinnit will offer the help of the United Nations in supporting authorities’ efforts to safely return the kidnapped girls to their families.
The Security Council adopted a resolution deciding to create “the Captain Mbaye Diagne Medal for Exceptional Courage”, to be awarded to military, police, civilian United Nations personnel and associated personnel who demonstrate exceptional courage, in the face of extreme danger, while fulfilling their missions or functions, in the service of humanity and the United Nations.
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict says she is deeply concerned over the fate of the more than 200 girls abducted from their school in Nigeria’s Borno State last month. Leila Zerrougui said that reports of additional abductions of girls in the country’s north-east are extremely worrying.
The Secretary-General has just recently wrapped up his visit to South Sudan, where he met with President Salva Kiir and spoke by phone with former Vice-President Riek Machar. He commended President Kiir for expressing his intention to meet shortly in Addis Ababa with Riek Machar. And before leaving, he said that Riek Machar informed him that he will be in Addis Ababa for meetings with President Kiir on 9 May — that’s Friday.
At the “Abu Dhabi Ascent” opening plenary, the Secretary-General urged world leaders to lead boldly on climate solutions. Following his remarks, he told the press that the September Climate Summit at the United Nations would not be a “talk shop”, but a meeting focused on action that would encourage Governments to look beyond national boundaries when fighting climate change.