HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
TUESDAY, 15 JUNE 2021
YEMEN
Martin Griffiths, the Special Envoy for Yemen, gave his final briefing in that post to the Security Council today. He stressed that a nationwide ceasefire would have undeniable humanitarian value and that the continued closure of Sana’a airport and the port of Hudaydah are unjustifiable and must end.
Mr. Griffiths said that he has learned during his three years on the job that leaders in Yemen have come close to choosing peace over war but, time and time again, when one side is ready to compromise, the other side is not. He said that Yemen needs an inclusive political process and settlement and warned that time is not on Yemen’s side, with foreign interference having grown and not diminished.
Mark Lowcock, whom Mr. Griffiths will shortly replace as Emergency Relief Coordinator, said that May was the deadliest month this year for civilians, with 60 civilians killed. He said the Ansar Allah offensive in Marib continues to threaten millions of people and he called once more for a nationwide ceasefire and for the parties to spare civilians and civilian objects.
He noted the work humanitarians have done to prevent famine in Yemen but added that two brushes with famine in the last three years are not a success.
SYRIA
The UN is very concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian situation of 13.4 million people in Syria following a decade of conflict, as well as an economic crisis and COVID-19.
The situation is particularly dire in north-west Syria, where more than 90 per cent of the 3.4 million people in need are facing extreme or catastrophic need. That is particularly the case for the 2.7 million internally displaced people along the border with Turkey.
The only way we can reach these millions of people is through the UN Security Council-authorized cross-border operation. The Bab al-Hawa crossing is the UN’s remaining entry point for delivering assistance to north-west Syria.
The assistance we deliver through the cross-border operation, including critical food, livelihood, nutrition and health assistance, reaches an average of 2.4 million Syrians each month; that’s around 1,000 aid trucks crossing the border each month. Cross-border assistance comprises roughly half of all humanitarian assistance to north-west Syria.
As the Secretary-General has stressed, a large-scale cross-border response for an additional 12 months is essential to save lives. There is no alternative. The Security Council’s current authorization for the UN cross-border operation expires on 10 July.
AFGHANISTAN
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that in Afghanistan, five health workers were killed, and four others injured in five separate attacks today in Nangarhar Province. These attacks took place on people who were conducting a polio vaccination campaign. In March, three health workers also lost their lives during the national polio vaccination campaign in Nangarhar Province.
The UN expresses its deepest condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of these health workers and wishes those who are injured a swift recovery.
These attacks come just a week after 11 staff members working for the Halo Trust NGO demining operation were killed in an incident in Baghlan Province, and that left 15 others of their colleagues injured.
The UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in the country, Ramiz Alakbarov, said that he is appalled by the brutality of these killings. He stressed that the delivery of health care is impartial and any attack against health workers and those who work to defend them is an attack on the children, whose very lives we are trying to protect.
As a direct result of these attacks, the national polio vaccination campaign, which began yesterday, has been suspended in the eastern region of Afghanistan, and that is depriving millions of children of protection against this preventable disease.
The parties to the conflict must protect civilians, aid workers and civilian infrastructure, including schools and hospitals, in compliance with international humanitarian law.
LEBANON
In Lebanon, the Deputy Special Coordinator, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Najat Rochdi, briefed Member States in Geneva on the deepening crisis in the country.
She said that Lebanon is facing one of the worst financial and economic crises in modern history. Acute malnutrition rates among children under five have increased over the past two years and more than one million Lebanese now need assistance to meet their basic needs, and that includes food.
The public health system is also stretched by the impacts of both the economic crisis and COVID-19, with people increasingly unable to access and afford healthcare.
Ms. Rochdi called on the international community to help meet the critical emerging needs of the Lebanese people and foreign migrant workers. She said that the UN is also working to mitigate the effects of the crisis - including through humanitarian response - until an inclusive social protection system is actually in place.
VENEZUELAN REFUGEES
Ahead of the virtual International Donors’ Conference on Thursday, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) called for renewed international support to address the needs of refugees and migrants from Venezuela and to assist their host countries.
The continued departure of refugees and migrants from Venezuela is one of the largest external displacement crises in the world. To date, over 5.6 million people have left their country.
The agencies reminded countries that this year’s Regional Refugee and Migrant Response Plan - which aims to help 3.3 million Venezuelans and host community members - remains critically underfunded.
The Conference will be hosted by Canada, UNHCR and IOM, and the event will bring together host and donor governments and key actors involved in the response, including the private sector, development banks and civil society.
DOMESTIC WORKERS/REPORT
A report released today by the International Labour Organization (ILO) says that ten years after the adoption of a historic International Labour Organization Convention, domestic workers are still fighting for recognition as workers and essential service providers. The report notes that working conditions for many have not improved in a decade and have been made worse by the pandemic.
ILO points out that at the height of the crisis, job losses among domestic workers ranged from 5 to 20 per cent in most European countries, as well as Canada and South Africa. In the Americas, the situation was worse, with losses amounting from 25 to 50 per cent.
According to the report, only one-in-five domestic workers enjoy effective, employment-related, social protection coverage.
E-WASTE/CHILD HEALTH
The World Health Organization (WHO) today published a report warning that effective and binding action is urgently needed and required to protect the millions of children, adolescents and expectant mothers worldwide whose health is jeopardized by the informal processing of discarded electrical or electronic devices, otherwise known as e-waste.
According to the report, as many as 12.9 million women are working in the informal waste sector, which potentially exposes them to toxic e-waste and puts them and their unborn children at risk. The report also shows that 18 million children and adolescents, some as 5 years of age, are actively engaged in the informal industrial sector, of which waste processing is a sub-sector.
WHO says that children exposed to e-waste are particularly vulnerable to the toxic chemicals they contain due to their smaller size, less developed organs and rapid rate of growth and development.
WORLD ELDER ABUSE AWARENESS DAY
Today is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. In a tweet, the Secretary-General noted that rates of elder abuse, a global issue affecting millions of older people worldwide, have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. He urged for increased prevention and response [measures] to protect and uphold the health and human rights of older people.
The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that elder abuse is predicted to increase as many countries are experiencing rapidly aging populations. According to WHO, if the numbers remain constant, around 320 million people could be victims of elder abuse by 2050.
