Briefing by Spokesperson for Secretary-General

The Secretary-General is in the office today with a reduced staff.

The UN Refugee Agency and the UN Migration Agency – IOM- today announced that they are temporarily suspending resettlement departures for refugees.

In Mali, in support of prevention measures announced by the Government, the UN Peacekeeping Mission has activated its business continuity plan.

In Sudan, the Humanitarian Country Team has finalized a COVID-19 Response Plan in support of the Sudanese government's national plan.

The International Labour Organization states that the economic and labour crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic could increase global unemployment by almost 25 million people.

UNESCO says that, as of late yesterday (Tuesday), more than 850 million children and youth – roughly half of the world’s student population – are staying away from schools and universities due to the epidemic.

Meanwhile, UNICEF’s Executive Director, Henrietta Fore, issued a message today to reaffirm the agency’s commitment to children around the world.

The UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen, Lise Grande, has condemned the continued attacks against health facilities in Taizz, which are threatening services for hundreds of thousands of people.

The UN Mission in Libya expressed deep concerns over the recent increase in abductions and enforced disappearances in towns and cities across Libya, which it says have been conducted by armed groups with total impunity.

One year after Cyclone Idai made landfall in Mozambique, UNICEF says 2.5 million people, almost half of them children, continue to require humanitarian assistance.

The Food and Agriculture Organization today launched a publication to help countries preserve critical carbon stores found in peatlands.

Today, the Secretary-General, following consultations with the Advisory Commission of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, is appointing Philippe Lazzarini of Switzerland as the Agency’s new Commissioner-General.

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Office of the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General