UN/EU Retreat, Mali, Central African Republic & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (6 July 2022

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

Highlights:
- UN/EU Retreat
- Mali
- Central African Republic
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Somalia
- Afghanistan
- Sri Lanka
- Comoros
- ECOSOC
- Football for the Goals

UN/EU RETREAT
Quick announcement for you on Thursday, starting Thursday afternoon and most of the day on Friday, the United Nations and the European Commission will hold their first High-Level Dialogue and that will take place at the Greentree Foundation, just outside of New York City.
The discussions will be co-chaired by the Secretary-General and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
This High-Level Dialogue will explore avenues for the United Nations and the European Union for strengthening multilateralism, international cooperation and partnerships.
Throughout several sessions, participants will discuss a number of key challenges facing the international community and how these can best be addressed through increased multilateral cooperation.
This includes peace and security, climate emergency, human rights, digital cooperation as well as the global economic situation and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The delegations will also discuss the war in Ukraine and its global consequences, including efforts to alleviate the impact, especially on the most vulnerable, on the food, energy and finance sectors.

MALI
You will have seen that in a statement we issued this morning in which the Secretary-General strongly condemned yesterday’s attack due to an Improvised Explosive Device against a convoy of the UN Mission in Mali. As we mentioned to you yesterday two Egyptian peacekeepers were killed. The latest number of injured is now nine, and the attack took place approximately 62 km north-east of Gao, in northern Mali.
The Secretary-General expressed his deepest condolences to the families of the victims, as well as to the Government and people of Egypt, whose soldiers continue to pay the highest price in the service of peace in Mali. He recalled that attacks targeting UN peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law and called on the transitional authorities in Mali to spare no efforts in identifying the perpetrators of the attack and swiftly bringing them to justice.
The Secretary-General also paid tribute to the peacekeepers of the UN Mission in Mali who, with exemplary determination and courage, continue to implement their mandate in extremely challenging circumstances in support of the people of Mali.

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
Moving slightly further east to the Central African Republic, our peacekeeping colleagues there tell us that the Mission has intervened to protect civilians caught up in clashes between the CAR armed forces and the Union for Peace (UPC) rebel group and that is taking place in the Basse-Kotto Prefecture.
The violence erupted following an attack on an armed forces base in Dimbi, which forced more than 500 civilians to flee to a nearby school. The peacekeepers provided protection. The Mission also used heavy machine guns to repel the assailants from the town. The situation is now reported to be calm, although peacekeepers remain in position and reinforcements were sent to ensure that security is maintained.

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