Noon briefing of 21 September 2021

The Secretary-General spoke at the opening of the General Assembly this morning, sounding the alarm to leaders gathered that the world must wake up.
“We are on the edge of an abyss – and moving in the wrong direction,” he warned.
The Secretary-General said the COVID-19 vaccine was developed in record time and is a victory of science and human ingenuity.
But with a majority of the wealthier world vaccinated while more than 90 per cent of Africans are still waiting for their first dose, he said this is an obscenity – an “F in Ethics.”
The Secretary-General called for urgent action on climate change and bridging global divides.
“The best way to advance the interests of one’s own citizens is by advancing the interests of our common future,” he stressed. “Interdependence is the logic of the 21st century. And it is the lodestar of the United Nations.”
The Secretary-General has also been meeting with world leaders on the sidelines of the General Assembly.

SUDAN
In a statement, the Secretary-General condemns the attempted coup d’état in Khartoum on 21 September. Any effort to undermine Sudan’s political transition will jeopardize the hard-earned progress made on the political and economic fronts.
The Secretary-General calls on all parties to remain committed to the transition and the realization of the aspirations of the Sudanese people for an inclusive, peaceful, stable, and democratic future.
The United Nations stands by the Government and people of Sudan in this endeavor.

ETHIOPIA
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today warned that the humanitarian situation in the region of Tigray, in Ethiopia, remains dire with the spillover of conflict into neighbouring Amhara and Afar. OCHA said that the delivery of humanitarian supplies and fuel into Tigray remains heavily constrained via the only road access route in Afar, in the Semera-Abala-Mekelle corridor.
According to OCHA, on 20 September 61 trucks with humanitarian supplies arrived in Tigray via Afar. This is the first convoy to arrive since 7 September and it brings the total number of humanitarian trucks that have entered Tigray since 12 July to 525 trucks. One hundred trucks are needed daily.
The last fuel tanker entered Tigray on 29 July, more than seven weeks ago. Nine tankers are stranded in Semera pending government approval. On 17 September, the last remaining World Food Programme (WFP) fuel tanker in Mekelle, which other agencies were relying on, was depleted.
OCHA added that the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) continues to operate two passenger flights per week between Addis Ababa and Mekelle.
Despite the depletion of stocks and resources, partners continued to distribute supplies in Tigray, and food, nutrition, non-food items, and other essential assistance in Afar and Amhara.

YEMEN
The UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, concluded today a visit to Muscat, Oman where he met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Sultanate of Oman, Badr Albusaidi, and other senior Omani officials. He also met with Ansar Allah’s chief negotiator, Mohammed Abdel Salam.
Mr. Grundberg exchanged views with Foreign Minister Albusaidi on the prospects of peace in Yemen and thanked the Sultanate for their steadfast support to the United Nations’ efforts.
During his discussion with Mr. Abdel Salam, Mr. Grundberg reiterated his commitment to work with the parties to move towards a comprehensive political settlement to the conflict in Yemen. “Sustainable peace can only be achieved through a peacefully negotiated settlement. It is imperative that all efforts are directed towards revitalizing a political process that can produce lasting solutions that meet the aspirations of Yemeni women and men”, Mr. Grundberg noted.

NIGER
The Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, has allocated $8.5 million from the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to Niger yesterday to support people affected by internal displacement, floods, and cholera.
The funds will help provide healthcare, water and sanitation hygiene, shelter, non-food items, protection and education support to more than 720,000 people.
This includes rapid assistance to over 81,600 vulnerable people, including newly displaced, returnees and members of host communities in the regions of Diffa, Maradi, Tahoua and Tillabéri.
UN agencies – including UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) – and their partners will implement the related projects.
As of 18 September, the country has registered more than 4,600 cases of cholera, including 149 deaths. Flooding has also affected nearly 200,000 people.

BELARUS/POLAND
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) today said they are deeply saddened by the deaths of four individuals near the border between Poland and Belarus, calling for an immediate investigation into this tragedy. The nationalities of the all the victims have yet to be confirmed, but two Iraqi nationals reportedly died of hypothermia.
In recent months, groups of asylum-seekers and migrants have been transiting through Belarus, to seek asylum in neighbouring European Union Member States - Lithuania, Latvia and Poland.
The two agencies have been following with growing concern, reports of pushbacks of people at these borders. Groups of people have become stranded for weeks, unable to access any form of assistance, asylum or basic services.
UNHCR and IOM call for immediate access to those affected, in order to provide lifesaving medical help, food, water and shelter, especially in light of the approaching winter.
While States have the sovereign right to manage their borders, this is not incompatible with the respect for human rights including the right to seek asylum. Pushbacks endanger lives and are illegal under international law.

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE
In a message, the Secretary-General said that this year’s International Day of Peace, marked today, comes at a crisis point for humanity. He noted that COVID-19 has turned the world upside-down, conflicts are spinning out of control and the climate emergency is worsening.
The Secretary-General added that inequality and poverty are deepening, and mistrust and division are driving people apart at a time when solidarity and collaboration are needed more than ever. As a human family, he said, we face a stark choice — peace or perpetual peril.
The Secretary-General stressed that we must choose peace. He emphasized that peace is not a naïve dream, it’s a light in the darkness guiding us to the only pathway to a better future for humanity.