HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
THURSDAY, 15 OCTOBER 2020

YEMEN
Martin Griffiths, the Special Envoy for Yemen, told Security Council Members that, starting this morning, the skies of Yemen have seen an airlift of hope. The parties have started releasing prisoners and detainees, in a process that will lead to the release of over a thousand individuals. The Special Envoy reiterated his call for the parties to unconditionally and immediately release all arbitrarily detained civilians, including journalists and political prisoners.
Mr. Griffiths hoped that the implementation of the prisoners’ agreement will build confidence and momentum by demonstrating that peaceful dialogue can deliver. Meanwhile, his office continues to negotiate an agreement between the parties on a Joint Declaration. He said that both parties remain engaged on the negotiations, but the parties have not yet agreed on a text. Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock briefed the Council as well, and he warned that experts are increasingly worried that the window to prevent famine in Yemen is closing quickly.  To prevent this, he said Yemen needs a nationwide ceasefire and a political solution. That, he said, would help move the country back from the edge of famine.

CORRUPTION 
A statement was issued earlier today from the Secretary-General on corruption in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 
Mr. Guterres said the response to the virus is creating new opportunities to exploit weak oversight and inadequate transparency, diverting funds away from people in their hour of greatest need.   
The Secretary-General said we must work together to stop thievery and exploitation by clamping down on illicit financial flows and tax havens; tackling vested interests that benefit from secrecy and corruption; and exercising utmost vigilance on how resources are spent nationally. 
“Together, we must create more robust systems for accountability, transparency and integrity without delay,” he said, and he urged all governments to use the tools provided by the United Nations Convention against Corruption.  
 
SUDAN  
The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, is in Khartoum today to engage with Sudanese authorities in advance of next week’s Security Council session on resolution 2046, and that is scheduled for Thursday, 22 October.  
So far, Mr. Onanga-Anyanga has met with the Prime Minister, the Chair of the Sovereign Council as well as other Ministers including the Defence and Foreign Affairs.  
This evening, Mr. Onanga-Anyanga will meet with members of the South Sudanese mediation team. He will leave Khartoum tomorrow. 

SOUTH SUDAN 
800,000 people in South Sudan have been affected by flooding since July. The UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund has allocated $10 million to provide life-saving assistance to 360,000 of the most vulnerable people.  
These funds are in addition to the $10 million released earlier by the Humanitarian Coordinator through the South Sudan Humanitarian Fund to kickstart the flood response.  
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that an additional $46 million is required to respond to the immediate needs due to the floods through the end of 2020. 
Even though most people affected by flooding have been reached with food aid and more than 100,000 people have received support in areas such as health and shelter, much more assistance is needed, with many still displaced. 
OCHA also called for increased investment in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation to avoid a repeat of the same crisis year after year. 

AFGHANISTAN   
In answer to questions asked on the situation in Afghanistan, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that fighting that began on 11 October between the Afghan National Security Forces and a non-state armed group continued with sporadic clashes reported today, near Lashkargah city in Helmand Province.  
The highway between western Afghanistan and Kandahar has reportedly been re-opened after being blocked due to the presence of Improvised Explosive Devices and some armed clashes. The highway between Kandahar and Lashkargah remains closed. The lack of telephone networks continues to impact information flow.    
Reports indicate that three health facilities have been occupied by parties to the conflict. The UN and our partner organizations are working with local authorities to resolve this situation. 
According to initial estimates by local authorities, 35,000 people have been displaced in Lashkargah City. Yesterday, four joint UN and humanitarian assessment teams were deployed to assess and verify needs. 
Humanitarian organizations in the city are ready to cover immediate needs, including water, sanitation and hygiene services, non-food items, tents, food and the provision of medical services. 

NIGERIA
In answer to questions about the ongoing protests in Nigeria, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General is following the protests in Nigeria calling for the dissolution of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad and an end to human rights violations allegedly committed by security agencies. The Secretary-General stresses the importance of respect for peaceful protests and freedom of assembly and calls on the security forces to exercise maximum restraint in the policing of the demonstrations.
The Secretary-General welcomes the decision by the Government of Nigeria to disband the Special Anti-robbery Unit and undertake broader police reforms. He expresses the readiness of the United Nations to accompany Nigeria in those efforts.

COVID-19/NAMIBIA 
The UN team, led by Resident Coordinator Sen Pang, is supporting authorities to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and address its socio-economic impacts. The UN has secured nearly $2 million to support the health response through procuring medical supplies and boosting treatment capacity.
To protect the environment and families who depend on it for a living, the UN is supporting the national response to drought. To keep communal conservancies open and to combat poaching and deforestation, the UN Development Programme launched an e-commerce platform for rural communities impacted by the slowdown in eco-tourism. 

COVID-19/ASIA-PACIFIC 
From the Asia-Pacific region, a new UN report says that comprehensive social protection systems are necessary in the fight against COVID-19, but are lacking in many countries of the region, despite their rapid socioeconomic ascent. 
Half of the people in the Asia-Pacific region have no social protection coverage, and the report urges governments to increase their investments to address poverty and improve health systems, among others.  

COVID-19/HANDWASHING FACILITIES 
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today warned that although handwashing with soap is critical in the fight against the virus, millions of people around the world have no ready access to a place to wash their hands. 
According to the latest estimates, only 3 out of 5 people worldwide have basic handwashing facilities. Forty per cent of the world’s population, which is about 3 billion people, do not have a handwashing facility with soap and water at home. 
UNICEF also pointed out that 43 per cent of schools lack hand basins with water and soap, and that impacts 818 million school-age children. 

ISRAEL/PALESTINE 
Nickolay Mladenov, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, today noted Israel’s advance of nearly 5,000 housing units in the West Bank and he said that settlement construction is illegal under international law and is one of the major obstacles to peace. 
This significant number and location of advancements is of great concern to all those who remain committed to achieving Israeli-Palestinian peace, he added. Such moves undermine the prospect of achieving a viable two-State solution by systematically eroding the possibility of establishing a contiguous and independent Palestinian State living side-by-side in peace and security with Israel. 
Mr. Mladenov called on the authorities to cease immediately all settlement-related activities. 
  
ISRAEL/LEBANON 
Yesterday a statement was issued from the Secretary-General welcoming the launch of discussions on the delineation of the Lebanon-Israel maritime boundary, following the framework agreement announced on 1 October of this year.     
 
COLOMBIA 
Yesterday afternoon the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Colombia, Carlos Ruiz Massieu, briefed members of the Security Council. 
He said that after almost four years after the conclusion of the negotiations that led to the Final Peace Agreement, there have been historic and undeniable achievements along the way, but enormous challenges remain.
He also said that while there has been an overall reduction of violence since the signing of the Agreement, some areas in the country continue to suffer from attacks to human rights defenders, former combatants and entire communities.

RURAL WOMEN DAY
Today is the International Day of Rural Women. This year’s theme is “Building rural women’s resilience in the wake of COVID-19.” 
In a message for the Day, the Secretary-General said that rural women play a critical role in agriculture, food security and nutrition, building climate resilience, and managing land and natural resources. However, he said that many suffer from discrimination, systemic racism and structural poverty. 
The Secretary-General called for investing so that rural women can have access to the healthcare, social protection and agricultural information services they need. 
 
PRESS BRIEFINGS TOMORROW 
Tomorrow, the guest will be David Beasley, the head of the World Food Programme. At 1.30 p.m., there will be a virtual briefing by Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism.