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

Highlights:
-Critical Transition Minerals
-Deputy Secretary-General
-Sudan
-Sudan/Humanitarian
-Central African Republic
-Gaza
-Office of Internal Oversight Services
-Lebanon
-Haiti
-Ukraine
-Security Council
-International Days
-Financial Contribution
-Guests Monday

CRITICAL TRANSITION MINERALS
The Secretary-General launched the Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals.
The panel brings together a diverse group of governments and other stakeholders to help embed justice in the ever-growing demand for minerals for clean energy technologies.
The Secretary-General underscored that justice is at the heart of this initiative: justice for the communities where critical minerals are found; justice for developing countries in production and trade; and justice in the global energy revolution.
For developing countries with large reserves, critical minerals are a critical opportunity: To create jobs, diversify economies, and dramatically boost revenues. Critical minerals could be a golden ticket to sustainable development, but only if they are managed properly, the Secretary-General stressed.
The work of the Panel will be co-chaired by Ambassador Nozipho Joyce Mxakato-Diseko of South Africa and Ditte Juul Jørgensen, the Director-General for Energy of the European Commission. They will be supported by a technical secretariat led by the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Team, the UN Environment Programme and the UN Trade and Development and comprised of over a dozen UN system entities.

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL
The Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, is in the United Arab Emirates.
Since her arrival yesterday, she held meetings with senior government officials, including the Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan; the Minister of State for International Cooperation, Reem Bint Ebrahim Al Hashimy; the Deputy Foreign Minister in charge of Multilateral Affairs and Former Permanent Representative to the UN, Lana Nusseibeh; and Mohammed Abdullah al-Gergawi, the Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Chairman of the Executive Office of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
Discussions centred on the situation in the Middle East, the UN-UAE relationship and accelerating action on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) leading up to the Summit of the Future.

SUDAN
The United Nations is receiving increasingly alarming reports of a dramatic escalation of tensions between armed groups in El Fasher.
The Rapid Support Forces are reportedly encircling the city, suggesting that a coordinated move to attack the city may be imminent. Simultaneously, the Sudanese Armed Forces appear to be positioning themselves.
The UN continuously warns that an attack on the city would have devastating consequences for the civilian population, in an area already on the brink of famine.
On 15 April, the Secretary-General spoke to you, and he reiterated his call on all parties to refrain from fighting in the El Fasher area.
The Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy, Ramtane Lamamra, is engaging with the parties to de-escalate tensions there.
Also, for his part, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, today expressed his grave concerns. He stated that at least 43 people, among them women and children, were killed as fighting was taking place between the two rival forces – backed by their respective allied militia – since 14 April.


Full highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon...