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I just want to start off with a sad note that obviously the Secretary-General was very saddened to hear of the passing of Prime Minister Ambrose Dlamini of the Kingdom of Eswatini.
He extends his deepest condolences to the people and the Government of the country.

TRIP ANNOUNCEMENT
I have a trip announcement for you: The Secretary-General will travel on Wednesday to Berlin, where he will address the German Parliament on Friday morning.
While in Berlin, he will also meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.
He will be discussing various issues with them, including the pandemic, climate crisis and international cooperation.
 
YEMEN
I have a statement by the Secretary-General to share with you on Yemen and the anniversary with the Stockholm Agreement:
Today marks the second anniversary of the Stockholm Agreement, a diplomatic breakthrough that offered a glimmer of hope that an end to the devastating conflict in Yemen was at hand. Unfortunately, far more needs to be done to achieve that common goal – and the profound suffering of the Yemeni people has persisted.
The Stockholm Agreement helped to avert a catastrophic military escalation at the time, thereby safeguarding the continued although limited functioning of the Red Sea ports and the entry of commercial goods and key humanitarian assistance, on which millions of Yemenis depend to survive. The preservation of this lifeline is even more vital now as pockets of famine-like conditions have returned in Yemen and millions are facing severe, growing food insecurity, in particular against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Secretary-General calls on all Member States to step up their financial support for the United Nations relief operations, and to help address the severe economic crisis of the country.
He calls on the parties to fulfil the commitments they assumed in Stockholm, including through full and unconditional participation in the Redeployment Coordination Committee and its related joint mechanisms, and the implementation of the terms of the ceasefire on the ground.
It is crucial to avoid any action that would exacerbate the dire situation in Yemen. The Secretary-General urges the parties to engage with his Special Envoy, Martin Griffiths, and that engagement [be] in good faith. Only through dialogue will the Yemeni parties be able to agree on a nationwide ceasefire, economic and humanitarian confidence-building measures to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people, as well as the resumption of an inclusive political process to reach a comprehensive negotiated settlement to end the conflict.
We will be sharing that statement with you electronically as we speak.
Also, I just wanted to flag that the Head of the UN Mission in support the Hudaydah Agreement (UNMHA) and Chair of the Redeployment Coordination Committee, Lieutenant General Abhijit Guha, is also calling for full implementation of the Agreement to end the suffering of the people of Yemen.
Both General Guha and the Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock, as well as Martin Griffiths, briefed the Security Council this morning on Yemen, in a closed meeting.

ETHIOPIA
On Ethiopia, our humanitarian colleagues continue to tell us of dire shortages of food, water, fuel, cash, and electricity, as well as telecommunication services and other vital supplies in the Tigray region.
Yesterday, we were told that the mobile network and electrical power were reportedly restored in Tigray’s capital, Mekelle – that is to be welcomed – and we reiterate our call for all basic services in the region to be restored. As we’ve been telling you, the communications blackout has made it very difficult to verify information and to provide basic humanitarian services to those who need it the most.
So far, more than 63,000 people have been recorded as internally displaced in Tigray, including some who fled towards Afar and Amhara. We expect these numbers to change if access to the region is allowed.
An inter-agency mission conducted between 2 and 8 December in Afar found that thousands of newly internally displaced people need water, sanitation and hygiene services, as well as medical supplies and care.
We, as well our humanitarian partners, continue to mobilize resources and personnel as we prepare to scale up assistance in Tigray as soon as humanitarian access is reestablished for the United Nations.
We also continue to engage at the highest levels with the Federal Government to work out operational details, including security conditions, to guarantee access.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and its partners in Shire continue to coordinate the protection of refugees, despite difficulties in accessing the camps, among others.
Over the past month, our colleagues tell us that there has been an increased spread of misinformation on social media. We are working with the Government of Ethiopia and others to rectify this.
 
NIGERIA
Turning to Nigeria, you will have seen yesterday that we issued a statement in which the Secretary-General strongly condemned the attack on 11 December on a secondary school in Katsina State in Nigeria, and the reported abduction of hundreds of boys by suspected armed bandits.
The Secretary-General calls for the immediate and unconditional release of the abducted children and of course for their safe return to their families. He reiterates that attacks on schools and other educational facilities constitute a grave violation of human rights. He urges the Nigerian authorities to bring those responsible for this act to justice.
And he of course reaffirms the solidarity with the Government and people of Nigeria in their fight against organized crime, violent extremism and terrorism.
For its part, the UN Children’s Fund also expressed its concern about the violence. It stressed that children should feel safe at home, in schools and in their playgrounds at all times. They add that they stand with the families of missing children and the community impacted by this horrifying event.

CLIMATE
On Saturday, the Secretary-General, along with the Governments of the United Kingdom and France, co-convened the Climate Ambition Summit. The Summit marked a major milestone on the road to next year’s COP26 in Glasgow in Scotland in the United Kingdom.
The Secretary-General appealed to leaders worldwide to declare a State of Climate Emergency in their countries until carbon neutrality is reached. He also said, as we look ahead, the central objective of the UN for 2021 is to build a Global Coalition for Carbon Neutrality, for global net zero emissions of greenhouse gases in 2050. He added that there is solid momentum behind the net zero goal and that by early next year, countries representing two thirds of global carbon dioxide emissions and 70 per cent of the world economy will have made strong commitments to carbon neutrality.
At the Summit, 75 leaders from all continents outlined new commitments and you can find more details on each of these pledges on the Summit’s website.
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TIMOR-LESTE/COVID-19
Turning to Timor-Leste, I’ve been meaning to give you an update on what we are doing on the ground to help address the pandemic:
The UN team, led by the Resident Coordinator, Roy Trivedy, is helping on several fronts, including the socio-economic response and recovery efforts.
With support from the Secretary-General’s “Recover Better” Fund, the UN has provided technical expertise and funding to ensure that the Government’s social cash transfer scheme reached the most vulnerable and marginalized people. Nearly 300,000 households were reached through this scheme, which represents approximately 94 per cent of all low-income households in the country.
The UN also brought in 13 women’s groups and the only LGBTI rights organization in the country to monitor the scheme to ensure that the process is inclusive.
Given the success of this initiative, authorities have also asked the UN for support in the development of a longer-term National Food Assistance Policy.

WATER/HEALTH CARE FACILITIES
A report released today by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF shows that around 1.8 billion people use or work in health care facilities without basic water services. WHO and UNICEF warn that this puts health care workers and patients at higher risk of COVID-19 infection.
According to the report, worldwide, 1 in 4 health care facilities has no water services and 1 in 3 does not have access to hand hygiene where care is provided. The situation is worst of all in the world’s 47 Least Developed Countries, where 1 in 2 health care facilities does not have drinking water.
The full report is available online.
 
MIGRANT PAY GAP
The International Labour Organization (ILO) today released a report showing that migrants earn nearly 13 per cent less on average than national workers in high-income countries. In some countries, the gap is as much as 42 per cent.
According to the report, migrants face problems in all countries of discrimination and exclusion, which have been aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic. ILO notes that migrants in high-income countries are also more likely to be in precarious work, with 27 per cent on temporary contracts and 15 per cent working part-time.
The report also shows that migrant women workers face a double wage penalty, both as migrants and as women. The pay gap between male nationals and migrant women in high-income countries is estimated at nearly 21 per cent per hour.