Central African Republic, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon & other topics - Daily Briefing (4 Feb 2021

Noon briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Highlights:
- Central African Republic
- Palestinians
- Deputy Secretary-General/ Sustainable Development
- Global Inter-Generational Dialogue & Launch of Global Peace Futures Forum
- Ethiopia
- South Sudan
- Libya
- Lebanon
- Peru
- World Food Programme/Drones
- FAO/Food Prices
- World Cancer Day
- Honour Roll

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
In a statement issued yesterday afternoon about the situation in the Central African Republic, the Secretary-General took note of the final results of the first round of legislative elections, proclaimed by the Constitutional Court on Monday. He also said that he remains very concerned about armed clashes and threats to civilians in the country and strongly condemns the violence and reiterates his call for a global ceasefire. He urges all parties to immediately halt hostilities.
The perpetrators of grave violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, as well as serious crimes, including the killing of civilians and UN peacekeepers, must be held accountable, he said.

PALESTINIANS
The Secretary-General earlier today discussed the challenges over the coming year for Israelis and Palestinians, in remarks to the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian people.
He said that the pandemic has had a severe impact on the Palestinians, particularly in Gaza. The UN and its partners are supporting the Palestinian Government’s work to control the spread of the pandemic. The Secretary-General added that the Special Coordinator continues to encourage Israel to support the COVID-19 vaccine availability, which is in line with Israel’s obligations under international law.
Mr. Guterres said that President Mahmoud Abbas’s call for an international peace conference under the auspices of the United Nations – and an expanded Middle East Quartet – provides a positive opportunity to advance peace in the region. 
He also called on the parties to refrain from unilateral acts that can jeopardize the possibility of restarting the peace process.
That event took place in person in the General Assembly Hall.

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL/ SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
This morning, the Deputy Secretary-General – Amina Mohammed - spoke via a video message at the Global Engagement and Empowerment Forum on Sustainable Development. She stressed that to ensure that societies rebuild in a sustainable and resilient manner, our collective response and recovery efforts must be rooted in the 2030 Agenda and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
She added that we need more targeted assistance for the furthest behind who are most vulnerable and have the least resilience.
Ms. Mohammed also said that we must act multilaterally to mobilize more development assistance and socially conscious investments and enhance our social protection systems.

Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/conte....nt/noon-briefing-hig