Winter Olympics & other topics Daily Press Briefing (4 February 2022)

The United Nations of Earth reporting on this issue: "Winter Olympics & other topics Daily Press Briefing (4 February 2022)"
The topics: Noon briefing by Eri Kaneko, Associate Spokesperson for Secretary-General. Highlights: - SG/China - Ethiopia/Humanitarian - Ethiopia/Refugees - Madagascar/Malawi - Palestinians - Tonga - Colombia - UN Staff - International Day of Human Fraternity - International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation - Honour Roll SG/CHINA Today, the Secretary-General attended the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics Games in Beijing.  In a video message for the opening, he congratulated all the athletes participating in the Olympic and Paralympic Games and said that the Olympic spirit is one of peace, mutual respect, and understanding.   “It is my fervent hope that this spirit goes far beyond these Olympics, to remind everyone – participants and viewers – that we belong to the same human family,” he said, adding that there are no limit to what we can achieve when we work together – for peace, for human rights, and for healthy lives and wellbeing for everyone.   And earlier in the day, he met with the President of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, and they issued statements to the press. The Secretary-General told journalists that amid a widespread lack of respect for difference, the Olympics show that competition can be healthy and happy and he wished success to all the athletes.  He also held a virtual meeting with the UN country team in China. Tomorrow, he will attend the Heads of State Lunch hosted by President Xi Jinping and he's also expected to meet with Chinese authorities as well as other leaders who are attending the Games.  ETHIOPIA/HUMANITARIAN In Ethiopia, clashes in the northern region of Afar are leading to growing humanitarian needs and preventing the delivery of aid into the neighbouring Tigray region. More than 200,000 people have been displaced from recent fighting in the region, according to authorities there. Fighting has also prevented the UN and our partners from conducting assessments. However, those displaced are believed to be in urgent need of assistance. In areas of Afar that can be accessed, the humanitarian response continues and more than 40,000 people have received food in the past week - and this is more than 420,000 people who have been reached since mid-October. The delivery of humanitarian supplies into Tigray via the Semera-Abala-Mekelle road remains suspended due to the insecurity in Afar. The UN and our partners have suspended or significantly reduced programmes due to the lack of supplies and fuel. During the past week, reduced levels of food assistance were provided to displaced people and host communities in the town of Shire. As we told you last week, the World Food Programme has found that more than 80 per cent of people in the areas it surveyed were food insecure, and nearly 40 per cent were facing severe food insecurity. Humanitarian assistance continues to be scaled up in the Amhara region, with more than 800,000 people having been assisted with food in the past week. In other parts of Ethiopia, as well as in neighbouring Somalia and Kenya, drought conditions are driving up humanitarian needs, affecting millions of people. Additional funding is urgently needed to support this response. Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=04%20February%202022


Click here for more information, to subscribe to the channel of United Nations or to watch the video on YouTube.