Palestinian issues

In Nigeria, where the number of COVID-19-related deaths has doubled in the past month, with total virus cases reaching 20,000, the United Nations is providing vital medical kits and equipment to further support Government efforts in addressing the pandemic.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Leni Stenseth of Norway as Deputy Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) at the level of Assistant Secretary-General.

In Bangladesh, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) confirmed today that a 71-year-old Rohingya man is the first refugee in the Cox’s Bazar camp to die from COVID-19 and some 30 other people have tested positive so far, yet the numbers are likely higher as testing is ramping up.

Without mitigation efforts, COVID-19-related service disruptions could result in more than 500,000 extra deaths from tuberculosis, HIV and other AIDS-related illnesses in sub-Saharan Africa from 2020 to 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Joint United Nations Programme against HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) said today.

Following is a statement by the General Assembly Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People:

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, following consultations with the Advisory Commission of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), today announced the appointment of Philippe Lazzarini of Switzerland as the Agency’s new Commissioner-General.

KUALA LUMPUR, 29 February — Activism and regional support are vital to achieving the aspirations of the Palestinian people, speakers said today, at the conclusion of the International Conference on the Question of Palestine.

KUALA LUMPUR, 28 February — The unilateral announcement by the United States of its vision for ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict without any attempt at dialogue or negotiation is a mockery of international efforts to resolve the ongoing crisis, the host country’s Prime Minister told the International Conference on the Question of Palestine today.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at the opening of the 2020 session of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, in New York today:

Members of the Palestinian Rights Committee described their work today as all the more urgent in light of the new Middle East peace plan unveiled by the United States, which deviates from the long-held international consensus on the question of Palestine.