The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Ebola told a high-level international conference in Brussels that a gap of $900 million remained to fund the response over the next six months to get to zero cases, noting that “phase 2” of tackling the virus was the “hardest part and a bumpy road”.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq today urged armed forces in Tikrit to avoid civilian casualties. He called on the Government and the international community to ensure delivery of desperately needed humanitarian aid and the return to their homes of people who fled ISIL.
The Secretary-General, in Santiago, Chile, today, told a high-level event co-organized by the Government and UN-Women, titled “Women in Power and Decision-Making: Making a World of Difference”, that with progress towards gender equality is too slow and uneven; words are not enough and actions must be backed by funds.
The Secretary-General is concerned by new reports of violence and loss of life in Venezuela. He supports the current efforts by the Union of South American Nations to re-launch the dialogue between the Government and members of the opposition to help the country overcome its current challenges and guarantee the human rights of all.
The UN Support Mission in Libya is undertaking a series of urgent consultations with Libyan parties, of the view that ending the severe political division is of critical importance. It has appealed to all parties to resolve the crisis and not allow the window of opportunity to slip away.
The Security Council today adopted a resolution reaffirming its commitment to the unity, sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Yemen. They expressed concern over the ongoing political, security, economic and humanitarian challenges in the country, and called on all parties to resolve their differences through dialogue.
At today’s ministerial-level Security Council open debate on maintaining international peace and security, the Secretary-General said that the three opening words of the United Nations Charter make clear who is the driving force behind the United Nations: “We the peoples”. He called for a re-affirmation to serve in that spirit.
The Special Representative for Global Education, Gordon Brown, urged Boko Haram to free the girls taken from Chibok last April, after the group released yesterday 158 women and children taken during a separate raid on Katarka, in December. Mr. Brown said that since Boko Haram had released some hostages, they should release them all.
The Secretary-General, speaking at the Summit on Countering Violent Extremism hosted by the United States Government in Washington, D.C., today, noted that addressing the profound challenge of violent extremism in a manner that solved rather than multiplied the problem could be the greatest test faced in the twenty-first century.
Addressing the General Assembly today on the Ebola outbreak, the Secretary-General acknowledged a significant decline of new cases. However, incident rates had risen again in Guinea and Sierra Leone, and he appealed to Member States to sustain the work against Ebola and provided resources needed to get to zero cases.