Mozambique Visit of Solidarity & other Topics - Daily Briefing (11 July 2019)

Briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Highlights:
- Secretary-General
- Central African Republic
- Mali
- Burkina Faso
- UN Officials Welcome ICC Conviction of Bosco Ntaganda
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Security Council
- ECOSOC
- UNESCO
- World Population Day
Secretary-General
Earlier today, the Secretary-General arrived in Maputo, Mozambique, from Nairobi.
Shortly after arriving, the Secretary-General met with Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi. In speaking to the press afterwards, the Secretary-General said that he was on a visit of solidarity with the people of Mozambique following the devastation caused by cyclones Kenneth and Idai. The country barely contributes to global warming, but its people are in the front lines of climate change, he added.
From the moment the country was hit by the cyclones this past March and April, the United Nations considered Mozambique to be an absolute priority. The Secretary-General congratulated the Government and the people of Mozambique for an extraordinary response to these natural disasters and appealed for quick delivery of the pledges made in a donor’s conference hosted in the city of Beira in May.
After a briefing by the UN Country Team, the Secretary-General will meet with representatives of NGOs involved in fighting discrimination against albinism.
In the evening, the Secretary-General is to be hosted by the President at a state banquet.
Tomorrow morning, the Secretary-General will fly to Beira, in the north of the country, to take stock of the recovery efforts in the areas impacted by the cyclones.

Central African Republic
The UN Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) reports that following fighting between criminal gangs in Bangui’s PK5 disctict, a Quick Reaction Force was deployed earlier today to reinforce patrols.
The violence was triggered by the reported attack on a trader by a criminal gang, yesterday.
Peacekeepers fired warning shots and intervened by taking strategic positions to separate the groups and to help protect civilians in the areas.
The Peacekeeping mission is working in close coordination with government security forces, which have also deployed personnel to the surrounding areas. The Mission is also liaising with local peace committees and community representatives to restore calm in the neighbourhood.
The UN mission strongly condemns the behaviour of criminal groups who endanger the security of the population in PK5.
The mission reiterates its determination to continue working with the Central African authorities to end the insecurity and ensure the complete disarmament of gangs.

Mali
The UN Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) reports that one of its mine protected vehicles hit a mine early this morning during an operation outside Kidal city in Northern Mali.
Preliminary reports indicate that 10 peacekeepers on board were wounded, including four seriously.
They are currently receiving required medical care. The Mission is investigating the incident and continues to monitor developments.

Also in Mali, as we have reported, inter-communal violence has increased, and nearly 600 people have been killed in the first half of 2019.
The violence is also creating unprecedented humanitarian needs. There are 70,000 people now displaced in the central region, up from 18,000 in 2018.
The number of displaced people has more than tripled in a year across Mali, reaching 147,800 people as of today.
Some 3.8 million people are food insecure across the country including over 548,000 who are severely food insecure and require immediate assistance. In addition, 1.4 million people are in urgent need of health assistance; and 1.3 million people in need of clean water.
Children are also paying a high price. Over 920 schools remain closed, affecting the right to education of more than 285,000 children.
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