Russia, Ukraine, Sudan & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (25 April 2022)

The United Nations of Earth reporting on this issue: "Russia, Ukraine, Sudan & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (25 April 2022)"
The topics: Noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General. Highlights: - Secretary-General - Ukraine - Financing For Development Forum - Secretary-General/Sudan - Sudan/Humanitarian - South Sudan - Middle East - Lebanon - Mali - Great Lakes - Democratic Republic Of The Congo - Kenya - Nigeria - Brazil - Hybrid Briefing Today - Noon Briefing Guest/Hybrid Briefing Tomorrow SECRETARY-GENERAL The Secretary-General is traveling to Moscow today, after having met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara just now. In his meeting with the Turkish President, the Secretary-General expressed his support for Turkey’s ongoing diplomatic efforts in relation to the war in Ukraine. He and President Erdoğan reaffirmed that their common objective is to end the war as soon as possible and to create conditions to end the suffering of civilians. They stressed the urgent need for effective access through humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians and deliver much needed assistance to impacted communities. The President and the Secretary-General agreed to stay in contact to follow up on ongoing initiatives. They also discussed the impact of the war in Ukraine on regional and global issues, including energy, food and finance. Tomorrow in Moscow, as we mentioned, the Secretary-General will have a working meeting and lunch with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and will be received by President Vladimir Putin. UKRAINE Turning to Ukraine, the UN Crisis Coordinator, Amin Awad, yesterday called for an immediate stop in fighting in Mariupol to allow civilians trapped in the besieged city to safely evacuate. Mr. Awad warned that the lives of tens of thousands of people, including children and the elderly, are at stake in Mariupol. The call from the Crisis Coordinator comes as hostilities in Ukraine are escalating, causing more civilian casualties, impacting key civilian infrastructure across the country, and hampering aid to people stranded in areas with intense fighting, including Mariupol and Kherson. Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that according to security reports, airstrikes this morning have destroyed several train stations in the west and north-central Ukraine. During the weekend, shelling impacted several areas around Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kharkiv. Across the country, and since the war began, the World Health Organization has confirmed more than 160 attacks against health facilities and the UN Human Rights Office has confirmed that 2,400 civilians have been killed. The actual figures are likely to be much higher. The worsening situation has prompted our humanitarian colleagues to revise the Humanitarian Flash Appeal as they continue to deliver aid to people across Ukraine. More than $2.25 billion is now required for needs inside Ukraine; more than double the amount requested when we launched the appeal on 1 March, a few days after the war began. Our colleagues stress that continued international support will be essential to enable humanitarians in Ukraine to reach those whose lives have been upended by the war. For its part, the International Organization for Migration said that is has begun rehabilitating unused and damaged buildings including school dormitories and hotels to provide safer temporary accommodation to internally displaced persons in the Zakarpattia Region, in Ukraine. This is part of a new shelter rehabilitation programme targeting almost 1 million internally displaced persons. FINANCING FOR DEVELOPMENT FORUM This morning, the Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, spoke on behalf of the Secretary-General at the opening of the Financing for Development Forum. She said that the global economy is under severe stress and that the Sustainable Development Goals are in need of urgent rescue. “Financing for developing is an essential part of the solution,” she said, adding that so far, the global response has fallen far short. That is why the Secretary-General has established the Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy and Finance: to ensure high-level political leadership; to get ahead of the perfect storm of food security, energy, and financing challenges; and to implement a coordinated global response. And you’ll be able to hear more about the Forum from our guest today, the President of the Economic and Social Council, Collen Vixen Kelapile. Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=25%20April%202022


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