#COVID-19

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at the launch of the global humanitarian response plan for COVID-19, in New York today:

High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said today that broad sectoral sanctions should urgently be re-evaluated in countries facing the COVID-19 pandemic.  Such measures could have a potentially debilitating impact on the health sector and human rights, she added. 

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ appeal for a global ceasefire amid the COVID-19 pandemic, issued today in New York:

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

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees airlifted emergency relief items to Chad on 19 March, responding to the humanitarian needs of some 10,000 Sudanese refugees.  Clashes in Sudan’s West Darfur region since late 2019 have forced more than 16,000 people, mostly women and children, to cross the border into Chad.

Following is UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s opening remarks, as prepared for delivery via video teleconference, at the opening of the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development for the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), in Geneva today:

The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen, Lise Grande, has condemned continued attacks against health facilities in Taizz, which are threatening services for hundreds of thousands of people.  Preliminary reports indicate that two buildings at the Al-Thawra General Hospital were hit by missiles on 13 March.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports that the voluntary repatriation of registered Afghan refugees in Pakistan has been suspended and it has closed several repatriation centres until further notice due to the Government’s precautionary steps to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

The Head of the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic, Mankeur Ndiaye, condemned as unacceptable an attack on blue helmets in the city of Grimari, which killed a member of the Burundian contingent, as peacekeepers were trying to stop an assault by armed members of an anti-Balaka group.

An estimated 14,000 people in Burkina Faso have fled their homes in the past 17 days due to recent violence, bringing the number of internally displaced to 780,000, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reports.  It is increasing emergency supplies and protection for affected populations.