Human rights

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesperson fo UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

From Madagascar, the United Nations is issuing a flash appeal for $76 million to support more than 1 million people in the south who face a potentially life-threatening lack of food, nutrition, water and sanitation, and health assistance due to the region’s worst drought in 10 years coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The United Nations Resident Coordinator’s team in Brazil is supporting the state of Amazonas in tackling latest surge of COVID-19.  The United Nations Children’s Fund delivered 250 hygiene kits and food baskets, while the International Organization for Migration is working to mitigate transmission in indigenous and riverside communities.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warns that 250,000 children have been displaced by the crisis in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, Mozambique.  UNICEF is concerned that safe water, sanitation and hygiene services are insufficient to meet the growing needs in overcrowded temporary accommodation centres and host communities.

The Food and Agriculture Organization said it is working to bolster the global response to the Fall Armyworm, considered one of the top 10 devastating plant pests, which places at risk up to 80 million metric tons of maize worth $18 billion per year in Africa, Asia and the Near East.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reports it is providing supplies such as mosquito nets, solar lamps, and blankets for 36,000 people in Somalia’s Puntland region who have been affected by Cyclone Gati, the strongest tropical cyclone ever recorded in the country, which made landfall in November.

Following is UN Secretary‑General António Guterres’ message for International Migrants Day, observed on 18 December:

This morning, David Beasley, the World Food Programme’s (WFP) Executive Director, accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on his organization’s behalf.  With 270 million people approaching starvation and only $5 billion needed to save 30 million from famine, he said, in the Nobel spirit of peace and brotherhood, let’s feed them all.

Following is the text of UN Secretary‑General António Guterres’ video message to the closing session of the World Press Freedom Conference 2020 “Journalism without Fear or Favour”, in The Hague today:

Following is UN Secretary‑General António Guterres’ message on the Human Rights Day 2020 theme “Recover Better:  Stand Up for Human Rights”, observed on 10 December: