HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
TUESDAY, 15 DECEMBER 2020
U.N.75
This morning, the Secretary-General listened to the Member States as the General Assembly held a closed session to discuss the follow-up to the declaration on the commemoration of the UN’s 75th anniversary.
The Secretary-General also shared some of his views of the problems we face, ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic to rising hunger, air and water pollution, the impact of climate change, war, displacement and famine. And he pointed out to the need to reinvigorate multilateralism so that it delivers more effectively and inclusively, leaving no-one behind.
ETHIOPIA
In Ethiopia, the UN continues to engage at the highest levels with the Federal Government to work out operational details to guarantee humanitarian access. We are also working to scale up humanitarian assistance in the Tigray region once access is reestablished.
In the meantime, our humanitarian colleagues tell us that arrangements are being made to deploy surge teams to different areas in Tigray, Afar and Amhara, and that supplies – including food, health, emergency shelter, and other items – are being continuously mobilized.
More than 63,000 people have been recorded as internally displaced in Tigray, but we hope to know the true number once we have more access.
In Sudan, our humanitarian teams there tell us that there are still challenges to help the increasing number of refugees crossing the border.
Water, hygiene and sanitation services are extremely limited in all transit centres, as well as in Um Raquba settlement, to where over 16,000 refugees have now been relocated.
More than 50,000 people have now fled to Sudan since the beginning of the conflict in Tigray, which started in early November.
U.N. RESIDENT COORDINATORS
The UN Development Coordination Office announced that Siddharth Chatterjee of India has been appointed as the new Resident Coordinator in China. His appointment follows confirmation from the Host Government, and he will take up his post in the middle of January next year.
Resident Coordinators are the Secretary-General’s representatives for development at the country level. They lead UN teams supporting countries to recover better from the COVID-19 pandemic through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The UN remains with full gender parity and North-South balance among all of our Resident Coordinators who cover 162 countries and territories.
CHILE/COVID-19
In Chile, as the Chilean Congress is discussing an immigration bill, the UN team, led by Resident Coordinator Silvia Rucks, is carrying out advocacy to ensure that the rights of migrants are respected.
UN agencies have delivered life-saving supplies to migrants and refugees by country’s northern border. These items include thousands of masks, diapers and hygiene kits.
The UN is also helping to provide guidance on how to reopen schools safely and to reintegrate women into the labour market.
Our team is also supporting preparations for next year’s elections to identify how to vote safely during a health crisis. The team is also working to promote gender equality and the inclusion of indigenous people in drafting the country’s new Constitution.
GENEVA INTERNATIONAL DISCUSSIONS
The UN welcomes the resumption of the Geneva International Discussions (GID), which had its 51st session in Geneva on 11 December in-person. This is an important process under the co-chairmanship of the United Nations, the European Union (EU) and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). This was the first meeting of the Geneva International Discussions process in 2020 since the start of the pandemic.
We appreciate that, despite the challenges, including those brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, all the participants recognize the vital importance of the Geneva International Discussions and reaffirmed their commitment to continue to participate and willingness to engage in this unique platform for dialogue.
The Geneva International Discussions is a platform for the talks to address the consequences of the 2008 hostilities in Georgia. The GID was launched in Geneva in October 2008 and the process is co-chaired by the UN, the OSCE and the EU.
VENEZUELAN MIGRANTS
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHRC) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) today said that they are deeply distressed by the death or disappearance at sea of up to 25 refugees and migrants from Venezuela, including children, after their boat capsized on the way to Trinidad and Tobago.
According to reports, between 14 and 21 bodies were found over the weekend floating in waters near the Venezuelan coastal town of Guiria. Search and rescue efforts continue as there may be others still missing at sea. The agencies are in contact with the Venezuelan authorities and are on stand-by to support as necessary.
For its part, the UN Human Rights Office urged the Venezuelan and Trinidad and Tobago authorities to coordinate to protect the lives and safety of migrants and refugees, including by operating effective search and rescue at sea, and by promptly investigating this incident.
PALESTINE
Today, the Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohammad Shtayeh, and the Acting Humanitarian Coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory, Lucia Elmi, launched together a $417 million Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) to help 1.8 million vulnerable people over the coming year.
The latest humanitarian needs assessment found that 2.45 million Palestinians - 47 per cent of the population - need aid.
This past year has seen the unique realities of the COVID-19 crisis, its socio-economic impact and the temporary suspension of coordination between the parties. About 346,000 Palestinians, who had been identified as having moderate needs, are now assessed to be in severe need.
NIGER
In a note issued yesterday afternoon on Niger, the Secretary-General strongly condemned the attack perpetrated by unidentified gunmen in the Diffa Region, on Saturday, in which at least 27 people were reportedly killed and some 800 houses burned. He expressed his deepest condolences to the bereaved families and the people and Government of Niger, and wishes a swift recovery to those injured.
The Secretary-General regrets that this barbaric act disrupted the peaceful holding of municipal and regional elections in the Diffa region.
He reiterates the commitment of the United Nations to support national efforts to consolidate democratic governance, promote social cohesion and achieve sustainable development.
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT
The 2020 Human Development Report was today released by the UN Development Programme (UNDP). This year, the report focuses on the actions that are needed if we are to live in balance with the planet in a fairer world. It shows that we are at an unprecedented moment in history, in which human activity has become a dominant force shaping the planet, from the climate crisis and biodiversity collapse to ocean acidification.
UNDP says that the COVID-19, which almost certainly sprang to humans from animals, offers a glimpse of our future, in which the strain on our planet mirrors the strain facing societies.
This year’s report discusses three key mechanisms for change: social norms and values, incentives and regulation, and nature-based human development.
UNDP has adjusted its Human Development Index, by which nations are ranked according to their contributions to human development, to account for planetary pressures.
COLOMBIA
Today the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, condemned the heightened violence being carried out by non-state armed groups and criminal groups targeting peasants, indigenous and Afro-Colombian people in Colombia. She called on State authorities to take concrete actions to effectively protect the population.
The High Commissioner urged authorities to conduct thorough, impartial and transparent investigations into all allegations of human rights abuses and violations, and to provide a safe environment to enable people from all sectors of society to participate in public and cultural affairs, free of fear, intimidation or stigmatization.
So far this year, the UN Human Rights Office in Colombia has documented 66 massacres, in which 255 people have been killed. In addition, the Office has received information on the killing of 120 human rights defenders in 2020.
JOURNALISTS
Regarding the latest report by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which looks back at the arrest and harassment of journalists over the last year, the Secretary-General said that he is appalled by the findings. He reiterates the fact that journalists, especially in this year of pandemic, need to be able to do their job freely, free of harassment and unrest.
The Secretary-General added that he will continue to advocate on their behalf.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Tomorrow morning at 10:30 a.m., there will be a virtual press briefing by the President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Munir Akram. He will brief on the topic: “Responding to COVID-19: What will it take to recover better?” The briefing is being organized by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).
