HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ,
DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
WEDNESDAY, 16 MARCH 2022
YEMEN
The Secretary-General this morning co-convened a virtual high-level pledging conference for Yemen, along with the Governments of Sweden and Switzerland. He urged donors to respond generously to the UN’s Humanitarian Response Plan, which has programmes designed to reach 17.3 million people at a cost of $4.27 billion.
The Secretary-General said that tens of thousands of civilians – including at least 10,000 children – have died in Yemen’s conflict, with millions of internally displaced people facing a daily struggle for survival.
The situation has been worsened by budget cuts. The Secretary-General noted that the World Food Programme had to cut rations in half due to lack of funds, with further cuts looming.
Recently, he warned, food rations have been reduced for 8 million people, with devastating consequences. In the coming weeks, the Secretary-General added, nearly 4 million people in major cities may lose access to safe drinking water and 1 million women and girls may lose access to reproductive health and gender-based violence services.
COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN
This morning, the Secretary-General held a virtual townhall with women from civil society organizations on the sidelines of the Commission on the Status of Women.
The Secretary-General heard the women’s ideas and concerns, and he talked to them about Our Common Agenda report, which makes a series of proposals for a safer, more peaceful, equal, and sustainable world. He stressed that this is a feminist agenda, based on equal power, participation and leadership by men and women.
Some of its proposals include: repealing all laws everywhere that discriminate on grounds of gender; achieving the equal participation of women in all sectors; investing in women’s economic inclusion and addressing unpaid care work; and having a plan for every country to end all forms of violence against women and girls.
UKRAINE
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs say the crisis in Ukraine is developing rapidly, with devastating impact on the humanitarian situation. In the worst-affected cities under attack - including Mariupol and Kharkiv - heavy fighting leaves people isolated and facing severe shortages of food, water, and energy supplies.
In Mariupol, tens of thousands of people remain trapped in the city despite reports of some evacuations. Our humanitarian colleagues are particularly concerned about vulnerable groups such as older people and people living with disabilities, who may not be able to flee the conflict. Efforts continue to ensure voluntary safe passage of civilians out of areas with active fighting, as well as movement of humanitarian goods and personnel into areas where needs are most acute. Humanitarian organizations are deploying additional staff across the country and are working to move supplies to warehouses in different hubs to serve people in need.
The World Food Programme said that in Kharkiv, 32.5 metric tons of bread were distributed by one of their cooperating partners to about 140,800 people. So far, about 600,000 people have been reached with some form of humanitarian assistance.
Today, the UN Refugee Agency said that the number of people crossing international borders out of Ukraine has reached 3.1 million.
For her part, the Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, has condemned the killings of Ukrainian producer and fixer, Oleksandra Kuvshynova and Irish journalist and cameraman, Pierre Zakrzewski, in Gorenka, outside Kyiv on Monday. UNESCO notes that both journalists were killed while reporting for Fox News during shelling, which also injured another journalist, who remains in hospital.
UKRAINE/TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS
Today, the UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten; the UN Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, Siobhán Mullally, and the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Reem Alsalem, expressed serious concerns at the heightened risks of sexual violence, especially trafficking in persons, impacting significantly women and children fleeing the conflict in Ukraine and forcibly displaced. In a statement, they stressed that urgent action is required to ensure effective international cooperation to identify and trace missing children.
They emphasized that - to reduce risks of trafficking - effective assistance and protection must be provided to refugees and internally displaced persons, without discrimination, in particular on grounds of race, gender, disability or other status.
The International Organization for Migration also warned that instances of sexual violence have already been reported. Among the individuals promising onward transportation or services, there have been indications of potential exploitation. IOM has scaled up its efforts to establish resources and interventions to prevent trafficking in persons both in Ukraine and among those on the move throughout the region.
UKRAINE/SOCIOECONOMIC STUDY
The United Nations Development Programme warned that every day of delayed peace will accelerate a freefall into poverty for the country. UNDP’s early projection released today indicates that up to 90 per cent of the Ukrainian population could be facing poverty and extreme economic vulnerability should the war deepen.
UNDP noted that in the event of a continuing, protracted war in Ukraine, almost one-third of the population will fall below the poverty line and a further 62 per cent will be at extreme risk of falling into poverty within the next twelve months.
The UN Development Programme adds that 18 years of socio-economic achievements could be lost. This would set the country – and the region – back decades, leaving deep social and economic scars for generations to come.
DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL’S TRAVELS
The Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, is wrapping up her visit to Lebanon today.
She paid a courtesy visit to President Michel Aoun and discussed the socio-economic and political developments in Lebanon. Ms. Mohammed expressed solidarity over the current rapid degradation of living conditions in the country, stressing the UN system’s efforts to accompany the Government and people of Lebanon towards recovery and sustainable development.
She also discussed socioeconomic and governance issues with House Speaker Nabih Berri, with whom she also raised the importance of timely, credible and inclusive elections. Ms. Mohammed also reiterated UN support to the Lebanese Parliament as part of the recently agreed upon UN-Parliament partnership compact that focuses on several areas under the 2030 Agenda.
The Deputy Secretary-General also met with the UN Country Team, and with UN Resident Coordinators and Regional Directors in the Arab region.
Ms. Mohammed held talks with international development partners and explored ways to scale up their support to Lebanon, highlighting the need to increase support for development efforts and not solely on humanitarian action. They also discussed the possible repercussions of the war in Ukraine on Lebanon, particularly on food security, macroeconomic stability and energy prices.
Yesterday, the Deputy Secretary-General met with Prime Minister Najib Mikati and they conferred on the challenges that Lebanon is going through. Ms. Mohammed stressed the need for crucial reforms, reiterating the UN’s continued support to Lebanon’s development agenda to help place the country on the track of recovery and move beyond humanitarian assistance.
LIBYA
Rosemary DiCarlo, the Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, briefed the Security Council on Libya this morning. She warned that the Libyan executive is facing a crisis that could, if left unresolved, lead to instability and parallel governments in the country.
The United Nations is exerting significant efforts to resolve this crisis, she said, adding that we aim to bring together Libyan stakeholders to agree on a constitutional basis for the holding of elections as soon as possible.
Since the 1 March vote by the House of Representatives, the situation on the ground has remained relatively calm, she said. However, we have observed increasingly threatening rhetoric, growing political tensions and divided loyalties among the armed groups in western Libya.
Ms. DiCarlo said that we aim to convene a joint committee of members of the House of Representatives and the High State Council with the objective of achieving agreement by both bodies on a constitutional basis that would lead to elections this year.
She added that Special Adviser Stephanie Williams has offered her good offices to mediate between Abdul Hamid Dbeibah and Fathi Bashagha to overcome the current political impasse.
MALI
The UN Mission in Mali, MINUSMA, reports that yesterday, near Tessalit, four peacekeepers were injured following an attack on their convoy using an improvised explosive device.
The four injured peacekeepers were evacuated to Bamako and are currently receiving medical treatment.
Our peacekeeping colleagues deployed a quick reaction force from the Tessalit camp to support the logistics convoy, which was able to resume its journey.
DRC
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs say that following repeated attacks, access to people in need is now more difficult in Beni territory, in the eastern province of North Kivu.
As of 10 March 2022, seven humanitarian organizations have suspended their activities in the Kamango health zone, in Beni territory, where attacks are on the rise. In addition, more than 300,000 people no longer have access to humanitarian assistance in other areas in the north of the province.
Humanitarian supply routes are also becoming more challenging due to the violence, and organisations have to make a long detour, sometimes crossing Rwanda and Uganda from Goma to reach the Kamango health zone.
Between December last year and yesterday, violence by armed groups in Beni territory has killed at least 256 people in some 40 attacks. Around 200 civilians have also been abducted. More than 250,000 people have been displaced and have sought refuge in other parts of North Kivu. About 30,000 others have fled to Uganda.
RURAL WOMEN
UN Women, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP) announced today that they will launch the new phase of a Joint Programme called Accelerating Progress Towards Rural Women’s Economic Empowerment.
The programme aims to secure rural women’s livelihoods, rights and resilience to advance sustainable development. In its new phase, the programme will initially focus on Nepal, Niger, the Pacific Islands, Tanzania and Tunisia.
Since its launch in 2014, the programme has reached approximately 80,000 rural women in countries such as Ethiopia, Guatemala, Kyrgyzstan and Liberia.
The new phase of the Programme will be formally launched on March 23rd, during a side event of the Commission on the Status of Women.
RESIDENT COORDINATORS
The Development Coordination Office announced that Karla Robin Hershey of the United States is the new Resident Coordinator in Bhutan and Claudia Mojica of El Salvador is the new Resident Coordinator in Argentina. Eric Jan Overvest of the Netherlands will be the Resident Coordinator in São Tomé e Príncipe starting tomorrow.
As representatives of the Secretary-General for development at the country level, Resident Coordinators lead our UN teams in supporting countries’ progress on the Sustainable Development Goals. They also help countries address the multiple impacts of COVID-19, especially on the most vulnerable people.
The new Resident Coordinators’ full biographies are online.
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION
Kiribati has paid its regular budget dues in full. 73 Member States have done so by now. We thank them all.
NOON BRIEFING GUEST TODAY
Máximo Torero, the Food and Agriculture Organization’s Chief Economist, briefed reporters on rising food prices.
