Pakistan

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

The United Nations team, led by Resident Coordinator Stefan Priesner, is helping authorities in Malaysia launch a national COVID-19 vaccination programme.  More than 500,000 people have registered to receive the vaccine, which aims to reach 80 per cent of the population, 24 million people, by March 2022.

The United Nations and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research hosted an online discussion on how to prioritize actions to recover more equitably from the COVID-19 pandemic.  More than 100 participants from 60 countries attended, including those responsible for $100 billion annually in global research investments.

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

Despite slightly improved humanitarian access into some areas of Tigray, the region remains critically challenged by the prevailing insecurity and bureaucratic constraints, United Nations humanitarian officials in Ethiopia report.  Health facilities in major cities are working with limited supplies and without staff.

A new Food and Agricultural Organization report warns that the Sustainable Development Goals will not be achieved by 2030 unless the world’s forests are restored.  Regional responses are making significant advances and 63 countries and other entities have committed to restoring 173 million hectares, but more needs to be done.

The High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed deep concern over death threats against Congolese rights defender and Nobel Prize Laureate Denis Mukwege, calling for a swift investigation and action to bring the perpetrators to justice.  The threats followed his condemnation of the killing of civilians in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees called on Guatemalan authorities to fully investigate the violent death of a transgender woman found dead at her home on Saturday in Guatemala City.  She had sought asylum in Guatemala after fleeing violence in El Salvador due to her gender identity.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Christoph Heusgen (Germany):

An estimated 4.1 million girls will be subjected to female genital mutilation this year and if programmes and services stay shut for six months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that figure will reach 6.1 million by 2030, according to the United Nations Population Fund’s “State of World Population 2020” report issued today.