MICHELLE BACHELET 
In a statement released today, the Secretary-General said that he was deeply grateful to Michelle Bachelet for her relentless service to the United Nations as High Commissioner for Human Rights. From her earliest days in Chile with enormous personal sacrifice, she has been on the frontlines of the human rights struggle all her life. 
In all she has done, Michelle Bachelet lives and breathes human rights. She has moved the needle in an extremely challenging political context – and she has made a profound difference for people around the globe. 
The Secretary-General said that she continues to have his full support. Mr. Guterres will always value her wisdom, strong voice and success in ensuring that human rights underpin the actions of the United Nations.

SECURITY COUNCIL
This morning, in the Security Council, the head of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), El-Ghassim Wane, reiterated to Council members the Mission’s commitment to continue its efforts to support a consensual way out of the current crisis in Mali.
While the challenges in Mali are numerous and complex, he said, they are far from insurmountable. The Malian people have a deep aspiration for reform, transparent governance, and accountability. These aspirations and the forces driving them, including civil society, have shown great resilience and deserve the full support of the international community, Mr. Wane added.
He concluded his remarks by echoing the Secretary-General’s acknowledgement of the need for the Mission’s continued presence in Mali, as well as his recommendation to extend the mandate for another year.

MYANMAR
Noeleen Heyzer, the Special Envoy for Myanmar, today briefed the General Assembly by video conference. She said that the political crisis unleashed on 1 February 2021 has opened new frontlines that had long been at peace.
Today, she warned, 14.4 million people, or one-quarter of the entire population of Myanmar, urgently require humanitarian assistance. This crisis has resulted in collapsing state institutions, significantly disrupting critical social and economic infrastructures such as health, education, banking and finance, food security and employment, while increasing the criminality and illicit activities.
Ms. Heyzer said that the number of people living in poverty has doubled in the last five years to encompass half of the population of Myanmar.
Armed conflict has now become the norm, she said, and distrust among stakeholders has only deepened. But on a more positive note, she said that although the situation remains fragile, there has been a gradual improvement of intercommunal relationships and economic and social integration of Rohingya in Rakhine State.