HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
WEDNESDAY, 1 JUNE 2022
SECRETARY-GENERAL
Today in Stockholm, the Secretary-General met with Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and thanked Sweden for its steadfast support of the UN and multilateralism throughout the years.
In a joint press encounter early this morning, the Secretary-General noted Sweden’s trailblazing role in gender equality and its championing of climate action and sustainable development, among other accomplishments.
He said that we have two UN teams – led by Martin Griffiths and Rebeca Grynspan – to help find a package deal involving the safe and secure export of Ukrainian-produced food through the Black Sea along with unimpeded access of Russian food and fertilizers to global markets, especially developing countries.
He urged countries who are planning to cut Official Development Assistance to reconsider their stance, as these cuts will have dire consequences on the lives of the most vulnerable.
When asked about Michelle Bachelet, he reiterated his full confidence in the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The Secretary-General also referred to the Stockholm+50 conference, which starts tomorrow, as a crucial opportunity to bolster our response to the triple planetary emergency of climate disruption, pollution and biodiversity loss. He called on countries to show greater solidarity, deeper cooperation, higher ambitions, more urgency, and stronger leadership today to address these crises.
The Secretary-General also met today with the High-Level Advisory Board on Multilateralism, and he visited the gravesite of former Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld.
Tomorrow he will speak at the opening of Stockholm+50 conference and on its margins, meet with other leaders as well as the Stockholm+50 Youth Task Force.
UN ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME
A number of events are underway in Sweden ahead of Thursday’s official opening of the “Stockholm+50: a healthy planet for the prosperity of all – our responsibility, our opportunity” international meeting, which continues through Friday.
Six thousand people have registered to attend in person, including 10 heads of state or government and 110 ministers from 146 participating member states.
Some Wednesday highlights include the second day of its Youth Assembly, the UN Science-Policy-Business Forum on the Environment, the One Planet Network Forum and a high-level meeting of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions.
Also happening is “Peace for the Planet” concert in Kungsträdgården (King’s Park) with participation from UNEP’s Goodwill Ambassador Ellie Goulding, Grammy Winner Ricky Kej and others.
MALI
In Mali, this morning, a UN Peacekeeping logistics convoy was attacked near the town of Kidal, in the northern part of the country.
For about an hour, the convoy was under direct fire from suspected members of a terrorist group using small arms and rocket launchers. Four UN peacekeepers from Jordan were injured, and unfortunately, one of them succumbed to his injuries after being evacuated.
There will be a formal statement later today, but the Secretary-General strongly condemns this attack and sends his deepest condolences to the family of the peacekeeper who died and to the people and Government of Jordan. He wishes a prompt recovery to those injured.
The Mission said this attack is the fifth incident to occur in the Kidal region in a week. It is a tragic reminder of the complexity of the mandate of the UN Mission and of the threats peacekeepers face on a daily basis.
In a statement, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Mali, El Ghassim Wane, underlined that, despite the difficulties, the Mission remains determined to support the people and the Government of Mali in their quest for peace and security.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
The Head of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), Bintou Keita has been in Goma for the last 10 days leading efforts, alongside the Congolese army, to respond to attacks by the M23 in the Rutshuru and Nyiragongo areas.
During a press conference in Goma today, she called for de-escalation. Ms. Keita also noted that while the Congolese armed forces and the UN Mission have managed to restore a relative calm in the two territories, a comprehensive approach is urgently needed to resolve the M23 problem once and for all.
She said the UN Mission would support the Democratic Republic of the Congo and countries in the region with the political process facilitated by Kenya, and making use of existing regional mechanisms. She stressed the importance of effective demobilization and reintegration programmes for ex-combatants in the country, and reiterated MONUSCO’s determination to continue using all necessary means to support the Congolese armed forces to neutralize armed groups and protect civilians.
Yesterday afternoon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo was on the agenda of the Security Council. In his remarks, Huang Xia, the Special Envoy for the Great Lakes region urged council members to do everything to avoid a new escalation in Congo’s East and to avoid yet another crisis with immeasurable humanitarian, security and political consequences for the Great Lakes region.
For her part, Martha Pobee, the Assistant Secretary-General for Africa said it is imperative that this Council lend its full weight to ongoing regional efforts to defuse the situation and bring an end to the M23 insurgency.
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
In the Central African Republic, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today said that between January and May of this year, aid workers have been impacted by 69 security incidents. One humanitarian worker has been killed while 16 others have been injured.
The Humanitarian Coordinator in the country, Denise Brown, has strongly condemned these attacks, some of which have led to the suspension of humanitarian activities.
There were four attacks against aid workers in one week alone, forcing two humanitarian organizations to suspend their activities. This hindered the delivery of aid to more than 46,000 vulnerable men, women and children, most of whom are internally displaced, in the north-west in the Central African Republic.
Ms. Brown has stressed that civilians are the most affected by this disturbing increase in violence. She added that every time a humanitarian organization is attacked, access to water, food, health care and education is threatened in a context where more than half of the population needs humanitarian assistance.
Ms. Brown called on all parties to respect their obligations under International Humanitarian Law and to allow humanitarian organizations free passage.
YEMEN
The UN welcomes the first commercial flight from Sana’a airport to Cairo earlier today. This was the seventh flight operating under the terms of the UN brokered two-month nationwide truce and represents an important element of the truce. A total of 2,495 Yemenis have traveled so far between Sana’a, Amman and Cairo.
The UN thanks the Government of Egypt for the invaluable support in bringing about this important achievement, and the Government of Yemen for their constructive role in making this possible.
Despite the good news today on the Cairo flights - and the improved humanitarian situation the truce has delivered over the last two months - we must be clear that humanitarian needs in Yemen remain high.
Some 19 million people will go hungry this year, including more than 160,000 who will face famine-like conditions. More than four million people have been displaced since the war started. Severe needs persist across all sectors.
Aid agencies need $4.28 billion to assist 17.3 million people across the country this year. So far, only 26 per cent has been funded. This means that core programmes like food assistance, healthcare and other activities are scaling back when they should be expanding.
UKRAINE/CHILDREN
Today, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned that nearly 100 days of war in Ukraine have wrought devastating consequences for children at a scale and speed not seen since the World War II. According to UNICEF, three million children inside Ukraine and more than 2.2 million children in refugee-hosting countries are now in need of humanitarian assistance.
UNICEF notes that based on reports verified by the UN Human Rights Office, on average more than two children are killed and more than four injured everyday day in the conflict in Ukraine. Civilian infrastructure on which children depend on continues to be damaged or destroyed. UNICEF and its partners have distributed life-saving health and medical supplies for nearly 2.1 million people in war-affected areas, enabled access to safe water for more than 2.1 million people and provided learning supplies to more than 290,000 children.
MYANMAR
From Myanmar, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today said that the number of internally displaced men, women and children in that country has now exceeded one million. This includes some 700,000 people displaced by fighting and insecurity since the military takeover in February last year. In addition, some nearly 40,000 people from Myanmar are currently displaced in neighbouringIndia and Thailand.
Since April of this year, the monsoons have damaged shelters for internally displaced people who were already living in difficult conditions in Rakhine, Kachin, southern Shan, and Kayin states.
Aid agencies and their local partners are working to provide displaced people and host communities with food, clean water, shelter, medicines, hygiene kits, COVID-19 preventive items, protection services, and other essential services.
During the first quarter of 2022, aid workers have reached 2.6 million people, despite difficulties with access as well as limited funding.
To reach all of the 6.2 million people in Myanmar who need humanitarian aid, we need improved access, the removal of bottlenecks such as visa delays and banking restrictions, and of course, increased funding,
Speaking of funding, to date, only 10 per cent of the $826 million we’ve asked for the 2022 Humanitarian Response Plan has been received. Inflation in the prices for food, fuel, shelter materials and other items has further limited our operations. We call, again, on donors to give generously to save and protect the lives of women, men and children.
LAO PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC/COVID-19
In the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, the UN team there is supporting the country in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Led by Resident Coordinator Sara Sekkenes, the UN team is working with the Government to boost development financing, trade, decent work and green growth, among other areas.
The UN Development Programme (UNDP) is working with the Government on sustainably restoring the tourism sector. For their part, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Educational, Social and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) are working in helping to improve education standards by addressing learning gaps resulting from the pandemic.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has reached more than 50,000 people with information on safe migration, access to work and education for returnees.
On the vaccine front, to date, more than 11.2 million COVID-19 vaccines – two-thirds of which came through COVAX – have been administered in the country across 18 provinces to 80 per cent of people ages 12 and above.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS/ENERGY
Two new UN reports launched today found that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, renewable energy was the only energy source to grow, despite disruptions to economies and supply chains.
However, progress on achieving the 7th Sustainable Development Goal – which is ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all – has been slowed by the pandemic.
Globally, 733 million people still have no access to electricity and 2.4 billion people still cook using fuels detrimental to their health and the environment. Nearly 90 million people in Asia and Africa, who had previously gained access to electricity, can no longer afford to pay for their basic energy needs.
The impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on energy have been compounded recently by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has led to uncertainty in global oil and gas markets and has sent energy prices soaring.
ACCESS
The security chief at Headquarters just confirmed that we are going back to the previous status quo in terms of after-hours access to the Headquarters building for resident correspondents. Resident correspondents just need to present themselves and swipe their cards at the 43rd street entrance. No prior notification is needed.
For those of you who need to bring in non-resident colleagues, you will have to go through the Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit, MALU, as per usual practice.
UN GIFT CENTRE
Further to the progressive reopening of the UN Headquarters in New York, the Department of Operational Support is pleased to announce that the UN Gift Centre has reopened today.
GLOBAL DAY OF PARENTS
Today is Global Day of Parents. In a tweet, the Secretary-General said that being a parent has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of his life. The Secretary-General salutes all parents for their commitment to nurture and protect their children in a peaceful and healthy world.
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION
Libya has now paid its regular budget dues. That brings us to 104 Member States who have paid their Regular Budget dues in full.
