Noon briefing of 15 December 2021

The Security Council met this morning on South Sudan.
Briefing Council members in person, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Nicholas Haysom, said there has been both progress and reduced momentum in advancing the Revitalized Peace Agreement in the country.
He pointed to positive developments, such as the fifth National Governors Forum late last month, which marked the first high-level meeting of all members of government since the signing of the peace agreement in 2014.
But Mr. Haysom said that, while the steps taken so far in the implementation of the Revitalized Peace Agreement are welcome, they are not sufficient if the peace process is to be sustained.
He stressed the need for progress to be made regarding next year’s elections and on the constitution and he expressed concern over the restrictions on civic space.
Also addressing Council members today was Wafaa Saeed, the Director of the Coordination Division in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
She said that the people of South Sudan have faced the highest levels of food insecurity since independence in 2011 and the renewed conflict, which began in 2013. She said that, between April and July 2021, 7.2 million people were estimated to be at a crisis phase, of which 2.4 million are at emergency phase.

IRAN
Rosemary DiCarlo, the Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, briefed the Security Council yesterday afternoon on Iran and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). She reiterated the Secretary-General’s point that there is simply no viable alternative to the full and effective implementation of that Plan of Action.
In this regard, together with the Secretary-General, Under-Secretary-General DiCarlo appealed to the United States to lift or waive its sanctions as outlined in the Plan and extend the waivers regarding the trade in oil with Iran. She also called on Iran to reverse the steps it has taken that are not consistent with its nuclear-related commitments under the Plan.

SYRIA
Turning to Syria, an estimated 3.4 million people need humanitarian assistance in the north-west.
Ongoing conflict in some areas, the economic crisis, COVID-19 and difficult winter conditions are increasing needs. All response modalities are needed to assist people in need. Aid must also be delivered in a more sustainable manner.
The UN has an operational plan to send regular and predictable deliveries of assistance from areas under Government of Syria control across conflict lines to reach the north-west. Two convoys of 14 trucks each have already moved assistance cross-line to a warehouse in Idlib. Distribution of the cross-line aid is expected to begin in the second half of December.
Cross-line convoys, even if deployed regularly, cannot replicate the size and scope of the cross-border operation. They are, however, an important complement to the massive cross-border operation, offering another avenue for aid to be delivered to people in need in north-west Syria.

AFGHANISTAN/HUMANITARIAN
Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that the World Food Programme provided food to almost 150,000 people in Badakhshan, Takhar, Kandahar, Helmand and Uruzgan provinces on Monday. In Badakhshan, Kabul, Panjsher and Kunduz provinces, close to 6,000 people also received cash assistance on the same day.
Our humanitarian colleagues also tell us that yesterday, four civilians were reportedly injured after an unexploded ordnance detonated in Garmser district, Hilmand Province. Also, yesterday, an unconfirmed number of civilian casualties were reported when an improvised explosive device detonated inside a mosque in Shinwari district, Nangarhar Province.
On the liquidity crisis, our humanitarian colleagues tell us that 100 food shops and commercial businesses remain closed in Jalalabad city, Nangarhar Province due to the devaluation of the local currency and high food and commodity prices.
In 2021, donors have provided nearly $1.5 billion for the two humanitarian appeals for Afghanistan. Next year’s Humanitarian Response Plan seeks three times the funding required this year, $4.4 billion to reach 22 million people with support.

AFGHANISTAN
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization today said that as of 30 November, it has directly supported 2.23 million people in 2021 across 31 out of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. More than 800,000 people were assisted in November alone.
Through the winter wheat campaign, FAO provided wheat seeds across 30 provinces of Afghanistan. When completed by the end of December, the campaign will have assisted 1.3 million people, enabling farmers to produce enough wheat to cover the cereal needs of 1.7 million people for one year.
FAO warns that prices are soaring, and humanitarian needs keep growing and continue to be far greater than resources. For the 2022 spring response, FAO urgently needs $115.3 million to deliver humanitarian assistance to farmers and herders.

HAITI
We can report that in response to yesterday’s deadly fuel truck explosion in Cap-Haitien, the UN Humanitarian Air Services, Haitian and other humanitarian air assets are working under the coordination of the country’s authorities to transport medical personnel and supplies.
Under the leadership of the health ministry and the civil protection agency, humanitarian partners are supporting local emergency care providers who report a need for medical personnel and supplies to treat severe burns. Priority supplies include serums, gauze and other items.
National authorities are still assessing the number of people injured or killed in yesterday’s explosion, but numbers available now indicate that at least 61 people died, and about 50 people were injured in the blast. Vehicles, motorcycles and 20 houses near the site of the explosion also caught fire, raising fears of a higher death toll.
The city’s hospitals are overwhelmed with injured people, most of whom are being treated in courtyards due to a lack of hospital beds.
Our humanitarian colleagues are supporting coordination by liaising between medical practitioners, air and logistics operators.
Haiti’s interim Prime Minister Ariel Henry has declared three days of national mourning.

COVAX/NICARAGUA
I have a COVID update for you today from Nicaragua, which received more than 800,000 vaccine doses through COVAX that had been donated by France to vaccinate pregnant women, postpartum women, and mothers who are exclusively breastfeeding.
This latest delivery brings the total number of doses that Nicaragua has received from COVAX to nearly 4 million.

HYBRID BRIEFING TOMORROW
Tomorrow at 11:00 a.m., there will be a briefing by the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, David Gressly.