Deputy Secretary-General/Travels, Niger, Democratic Republic of the Congo & other topics - Daily Press Briefing

**Brazil
As part of her visit to Brazil, the Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, will today travel to Santarém, in the State of Para, in the Amazon region. On the first two days of her trip to the country, the Deputy Secretary-General and her delegation had a number of meetings with the federal Government in Brasilia, including with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Luiz Viera; the Minister of the General Secretariat of the Presidency, Marcio Macedo; the Minister of Environment and Climate, Marina Silva; and the Special Adviser to the President for International Affairs, Celso Amorim. She also met senior officials representing the ministries of financing and planning, amongst others. Ms. Mohammed commended the Government’s efforts to strengthen the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and discussed the importance of raising ambition at the global stage for the 2030 Agenda, climate action, and reforming of the international financial system. The Deputy Secretary-General also engaged with the President of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco, and with the representatives of ABDE — the Brazilian Development Financial Institutions. Ms. Mohammed also met with the UN country team on the Organization’s collaboration with the Brazilian Government to achieve the SDGs.

**Niger
On Niger, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and its partners remain committed to delivering assistance to the most vulnerable people in the country.
Humanitarian operations continue uninterrupted and road movements are possible and have been authorized.
On Monday, the UN humanitarian air service — UNHAS — organized special flights to Diffa, Tahoua and Agadez to transport staff from the UN and our partners, following authorization previously obtained by the transitional [sic; see below] authorities.
As you’ll recall, some 4.3 million people in Niger, the vast majority of whom are women and children, need humanitarian aid.
OCHA stresses that all parties must continue to respect humanitarian principles and allow for unhindered access for humanitarian workers to all people in need, across the country.

**Democratic Republic of the Congo
At a press conference in Kinshasa today, the head of our peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), Bintou Keita, highlighted the challenges ahead for MONUSCO’s transition, including the significant insecurity that still plagues 13 territories in North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri, the provinces where the Mission is still present and which require sustained joint action by national security forces and UN peacekeepers.
Ms. Keita described 2024 as the “year of transition”, where the Mission will increasingly transfer its responsibilities, including the protection of civilians, to the Government of the DRC. In that regard, MONUSCO is working closely with the authorities to ensure that national capacities meet minimum-security requirements to allow for a responsible drawdown of the Mission. The expertise and resources of the UN family are also being leveraged to help the Government implement national plans to support humanitarian needs and development.

For further details please see SOURCE below.
Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General