Rwanda

(Based on information provided by the Protocol and Liaison Service)

The new Permanent Representative of Rwanda to the United Nations, Claver Gatete, presented his credentials to UN Secretary-General António Guterres today.

Before his latest appointment, Mr. Gatete held Cabinet positions in his country’s Government, serving most recently as Minister for Infrastructure beginning in 2018.  He was the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning from 2013.

Mr. Gatete served as Governor of the National Bank of Rwanda from 2011, having been Deputy Governor since 2009.

The World Food Programme (WFP) is substantially scaling up its assistance in Myanmar, where ongoing security challenges, humanitarian access restrictions and COVID-19 cases are impacting the population.  It is targeting at least 4 million people across the country, where 1 in 4 is facing food insecurity.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that shelling yesterday damaged a power line near a main lift pumping station of the South Donbas Waterway in eastern Ukraine.  It interrupted safe water supply for 1.1 million people in 50 nearby settlements on both sides of the “contact line”.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message on the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, observed on 7 April:

Cabo Verde has received 24,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine through the global COVAX facility – the first of 100,000 doses expected by May – according to United Nations staff in the country, who called the shipment a source of hope and a testimony to global solidarity.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today launched the Humanitarian Airfreight Initiative, with 15 leading airlines supporting the prioritization of the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines and other critical supplies.

Humanitarian officials are seriously concerned about the rapidly deteriorating food security situation in southern and eastern Madagascar, where more than 1.3 million people face severe hunger.  The third drought in a row is compounding the effects of COVID-19 and the extremely limited access to essential services.

Somalia is dealing with COVID-19, floods and the worst desert locust upsurge in 25 years amid protracted conflict and significant displacement. As aid partners and authorities are scaling up efforts, the revised 2020 Somalia humanitarian response plan remains less than 17 per cent funded, at $210.8 million out of $1.25 billion.

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

The Secretary-General condemned the double suicide bombing by suspected Boko Haram fighters on 5 April in Amichidé, in the Far North region of Cameroon, reiterating the United Nations continued support to countries in the Lake Chad Basin as they address the security, economic and humanitarian challenges posed by that group.