HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
TUESDAY, 9 AUGUST 2022
SECRETARY-GENERAL/TRAVELS
The Secretary-General is in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, a country which, he told journalists, can be a symbol of peace in a troubled world. He said he was visiting to express the UN’s full solidarity with Mongolia. The Secretary-General underscored that in a world with dramatic geopolitical divides and where conflicts proliferate everywhere, Mongolia - as an area free of nuclear weapons - is an example for other countries to follow. “There is only one way to be absolutely sure that a nuclear war is impossible,” he said, “and that way is if there are no nuclear weapons.”
The Secretary-General also expressed his gratitude to all Mongolian peacekeepers for their service in UN peace operations, often in the most challenging settings.
Earlier today he met with President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa and other senior officials, with whom he discussed the geopolitical situation in the region, the challenges Mongolia faces as a landlocked country, and Mongolia’s efforts to tackle climate change.
The Secretary-General also took part alongside youth and peacekeepers in a tree-planting event for Mongolia’s One Billion Trees campaign. This campaign is one of the things Mongolia is doing to address climate change and desertification of its land.
The Secretary-General also visited a nomadic family and learned about their way of life, and he also met a group of beneficiaries from UN projects, including women entrepreneurs and youth activists.
NAGASAKI
Izumi Nakamitsu, the High Representative for Disarmament, today delivered a message on behalf of the Secretary-General on the 77th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. In that message, the Secretary-General said that the use of nuclear weapons against Hiroshima and Nagasaki caused a humanitarian catastrophe unique in history. It heralded the dawn of a new era in which humanity could bring about its own extinction.
The Secretary-General said that the Russian invasion of Ukraine reminds us that we are, at any time, just minutes from possible annihilation. Meanwhile, he added, dangerous rhetoric and nuclear threats demonstrate that these are weapons of brinkmanship and coercion.
In these times of high tensions and low levels of trust, he asserted, we should draw on the lessons of Nagasaki:
Disarmament, reconciliation and the pursuit of peace are the only way forward -- for all our sakes.
GAZA
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today said that the ceasefire brokered by the UN and Egypt on Sunday has been holding so far in Gaza. Humanitarian partners are responding to the needs of affected families through cash assistance and the provision of non-food items.
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is providing services as usual, with no disruptions reported. Assessments of damage to critical installations are ongoing.
At the moment, there appears to be no severe damage to water and sanitation systems. And all health facilities remain functional – but some need to replenish trauma and emergency supplies.
Meanwhile, Israel re-opened the crossings with Gaza yesterday. The Erezcrossing is open for the passage of Palestinian patients, and the UN and diplomatic personnel. The Kerem Shalom crossing is open for the movement of all authorized goods, including fuel for the Gaza power plant. And the Rafah crossing is open as usual for three days per week.
MIDDLE EAST
Tor Wennesland, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, told the Security Council yesterday that the past days have witnessed a deeply worrying escalation in the Gaza Strip between Israeli military forces and Palestinian armed groups, primarily the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
The Special Coordinator said that the UN remains in close contact with all parties to solidify the ceasefire and ensure that the significant progress made towards easing restrictions, which we have seen since the end of the escalation last May, can be safeguarded and ultimately expanded.
Mr. Wennesland warned that the ceasefire is fragile and that any resumption of hostilities will only have devastating consequences for Palestinians and Israelis and make any political progress elusive.
UKRAINE
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today said that over the weekend it has delivered over 40 tonnes of critical relief supplies to people living in the heavily impacted cities of Chasiv Yar, Siversk and Soledar, in the Donetsk oblast. Chasiv Yar, close to the front line, suffered one of the deadliest attacks since the beginning of the war, when a municipal dormitory sheltering vulnerable people was hit in the first week of July, killing nearly 50 people and injuring many others.
The seven-truck humanitarian convoy brought bottled water and water purification tabs, emergency health kits, hygiene items, blankets and other relief supplies to more than 6,000 people to help them prepare for the upcoming cold season, otherwise known as winter.
OCHA said that the conflict continues to take a heavy toll on civilians in the three cities, and across Donetsk oblast. Yesterday, at least one civilian was killed, and five others injured in shelling in Chasiv Ya, according to local authorities.
People who remain in Siversk, mainly the elderly and those with limited mobility, are spending their days in shelters, hiding from the constant bombardment. People from Siversk and Soledar, who were in Chasiv Yar, told our colleagues that they face tremendous challenges accessing safe water, cooking [gas], food, and shelter due to the destruction of homes.
The UN, along with its partners, still have not been able to reach areas beyond the control of the Ukrainian Government despite extensive efforts and ongoing engagement with all parties to the conflict. The UN calls on those parties to urgently facilitate the delivery of critical humanitarian assistance to the people who have been hardest hit by the war.
ETHIOPIA
The UN World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the Ethiopian Government Refugees and Returnees Service today appealed for $73m to provide food rations to more than 750,000 refugees in Ethiopia, over the next six months. They warned that WFP will completely run out of food for refugees by October.
Due to protracted funding shortfalls, WFP has already been forced to cut rations for 750,000 registered refugees living in 22 camps and five sites in hosting communities in Afar, Amhara, Benishangul-Gumuz, Gambella, Somali and Tigray regions of Ethiopia. Food insecurity amongst the refugees has risen as a result of the cuts and is even further compounded by current global limitations to food availability, economic shocks, rising costs of food and energy, the fallout of COVID-19, conflict and insecurity.
COUNTER-TERRORISM
Vladimir Voronkov, head of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism, briefed the Security Council this morning. He told Council members that it seems like every time he appears before the Council to deliver the Secretary-General’s report, something big happens just before it. This time, he said, it’s the death of Ayman Al-Zawahiri; in the winter it was the Da’esh attack in Al-Hasakah; and last August it was the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan.
He told the Council that, despite its territorial defeat and subsequent leadership losses, Da’esh has continued to pose a threat to international peace and security, one that has been rising ever since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr. Voronkov said that resolving the conflicts in which Da’esh and Al-Qaida thrive is necessary for creating the conditions to bring about their defeat. But he added that we must also address the vulnerabilities, social grievances and inequality exploited by the group in the first place, as well as promoting and protecting human rights and the rule of law.
PAKISTAN
The UN team in Pakistan, led by Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Julien Harneis, is stepping up its response efforts to assist millions of people impacted by recent flooding, following the authorities’ recent official request for assistance. Mr. Harneis visited the flooded areas last week and met with officials and affected people.
In addition to the UN’s rapid needs assessment, the World Food Programme (WFP) is providing cash to affected communities, along with mother and child nutrition projects, while the World Health Organization (WHO) is providing medicines, mosquito nets and blankets.
For its part, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) has distributed over 6,000 dignity kits and 500 new-born baby kits, while the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has sent 500 tents, along with tarpaulins, blankets and buckets to support 70 affected refugee families
Also, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has distributed maternal and neonatal supplies.
For its part, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is working with authorities to assess needs and provide veterinary supplies.
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE WORLD’S INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
Today is the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples. In a message, the Secretary-General notes that this year we are highlighting the role of Indigenous women in preserving and passing on traditional knowledge.
The Secretary-General points out that indigenous traditional knowledge can offer solutions to many of our common challenges. He calls on Member States to implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and to promote Indigenous traditional knowledge for the benefit of all.
NOON BRIEFING GUEST TOMORROW
Tomorrow, the noon briefing guest will be Frederick J. Kenney, interim Coordinator for the UN at the Joint Coordination Centre in Istanbul.
