HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
MONDAY, 24 OCTOBER 2022
U.N. DAY
Today is UN Day.
In his message, the Secretary-General reminded us that the UN is the product of hope.
But, today, he added, as the Organization is being tested like never before, we need to bring to life the values and principles of the UN Charter in every corner of the world - by giving peace a chance, by working to end extreme poverty, and by rescuing the Sustainable Development Goals. By safeguarding our planet, and by finally balancing the scales of opportunity and freedom for women and girls and ensure human rights for all.
UKRAINE
In Ukraine, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that recent attacks have severely disrupted power supplies across the country.
Drone and missile attacks on 22nd of October left more than 1.4 million customers, some of them businesses and institutions, without power, according to the Government. Most of the damage was to transmission systems in Rivnenska,Volynska and Khmelnytska oblasts and in central Kirovohradska oblast, which were previously less targeted by attacks.
Critical infrastructure facilities were damaged in Mykolaivska and Odeska oblasts, and that is according to the authorities. Power and water supplies were interrupted in large urban centres.
By today, that is 24 October, electricity and water supplies were restored in most of the impacted oblasts.
Scheduled power outages are expected in seven oblasts, including in the capital, Kyiv.
Between 21 and 23 October, hostilities caused 70 casualties across Ukraine, most in eastern, south-eastern and central regions, and also in the south-eastern regions.
In the past three days, convoys delivered aid to the city of Kupiansk, in eastern Kharkivska oblast, and to the small town of Yampil in eastern Donetska oblast, both of which are locations where the Government of Ukraine recently regained control of the area.
GUINEA
Turning to Guinea, the Secretary-General takes note of the agreement reached between the Transitional Authorities of Guinea and the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS’ Technical Mission on the timeline and content of the transition in Guinea, which will be submitted to the ECOWAS authorities for endorsement.
The Secretary-General reaffirms the UN’s support to ECOWAS’ efforts to ensure a return to constitutional order in Guinea.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the UN peacekeeping mission there reports that the resumption of clashes between the M23 militia and the Congolese armed forces in North Kivu has resulted in the death and injury of civilians as well as population displacement. According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, an estimated 23,000 men, women and children have been displaced. Some 2,500 of those people have crossed into neighbouring Uganda.
As fighting intensified over the weekend, at least 30 wounded civilians were trapped in the combat zones and urgently require health care. That is according to our partners on the ground as well as local authorities.
Our colleagues say that the fighting could restrict humanitarian access in certain areas, notably on the road between the towns of Rutshuru and Goma, which aid
workers use extensively to deliver supplies and services to Rutshuru and Kiwanja.
Since March of this year, clashes between the armed forces of the DRC and M23 have forced at least 186,000 men, women and children from their homes. Aid workers have provided them with food, health care, water and hygiene. We anticipate additional assistance will be needed due to the latest clashes.
Also, late last week, in North Kivu, suspected ADF militia members attacked Maboya, south-west of the town of Beni. There, they killed seven civilians and abducted at least a dozen others. Health centres, homes, and shops were also looted and torched. The Mission condemns the violence and is working closely with the Congolese armed forces and local police force to prevent further attacks and restore calm.
We call on all of the armed groups to respect international humanitarian law and to allow aid workers to reach the people who need it the most.
LIBYA
Abdoulaye Bathily, the recently appointed Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya, briefed the Security Council by VTC this morning and discussed his consultations with Libyan officials since he arrived, in the last few weeks. He urged the country’s leaders to heed the people’s aspirations for peace and leadership.
He told the Council that the 5+5 Joint Military Commission has agreed to meet in Sirte next Thursday. That is regarding the implementation of the ceasefire agreement. He intends to travel to Sirte on 27 [October] to be there for that meeting.
Mr. Bathily said that the conduct of elections is paramount for Libya and stressed the need for Libyan actors to work together in a sincere and committed manner for those elections to take place.
SUDAN
In Sudan, the Trilateral Mechanism, which includes the UN Mission, said today that it was deeply saddened by the killing of a young protestor, Issa Omer Al Bahy, which took place in Khartoum yesterday. The [Trilateral] Mechanism calls for a credible investigation into the death to ensure that perpetrators are held accountable.
As we mark one year since the 25 October 2021 coup, the Trilateral Mechanism urges the security forces to exercise maximum restraint and protect the rights of protestors to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly. Any act of violence is unacceptable and will undermine the recent momentum towards reaching a solution to the political crisis in the country. Any provocations should be avoided.
For those of you who did not know, the Trilateral mechanism is the UN, the African Union and IGAD.
MALI
The UN Mission in Mali has helped build a school in the village of Timbaradjene in the Timbuktou region. This was done as part of the mission’s quick impact projects following a request from the community. This is the first permanent school established in the area. Previously, classes were given under temporary shelters. The school now has more than 100 students, including 54 girls from different communities, including internally displaced people.
Separately, UN peacekeepers donated basic necessities, medicines and non-food items to more than 200 internally displaced families in Kidal. Earlier, the Mission helped support newly arriving displaced families from Ménaka and Ansongo towns. You will recall that since March of this year, renewed insecurity in the regions of Ménaka and Gao has forced thousands of people to leave their lands. Many have also lost part of their livestock, their main means of subsistence.
MYANMAR
The Secretary-General joins the United Nations country team in expressing its deep concern regarding the reports of airstrikes by the military in Kachin State, in Myanmar, which are said to have killed and injured many civilians.
While we continue to verify the details of this attack, the Secretary-General and the country team offer their condolences to the families and friends of all those who were killed or injured. We reiterate our call for the immediate cessation of violence and all those who are injured need to be give urgent medical treatment, as needed.
SYRIA
A UN inter-agency cross-line convoy of 18 trucks crossed from Aleppo to north-west Syria during the weekend.
The convoy delivered 503 metric tonnes of food for more than 56,000 people, as well as nutrition, shelter, water and sanitation items, health kits and other supplies. This is the eighth cross-line convoy in line with the UN inter-agency operational plan developed after the adoption of Security Council resolution 2585 in July of last year [2021].
Humanitarian conditions continue to decline in the north-west due to ongoing hostilities and a deepening economic crisis. Today, 4.1 million people rely on UN aid to meet their most basic needs, and 80 per cent of those people are women and children.
LEBANON
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that UN partners continue to respond to the cholera outbreak in the country. As of 22 October, there have been a reported 239 confirmed cases of cholera. That includes, sadly, 10 deaths, and that’s across all of Lebanon.
This rise in cases comes as Lebanon faces overlapping crises, notably on energy, which have severely affected access to health, surveillance systems, safe drinking water and sanitation services.
The lack of humanitarian funding, the limited resources of public structures and the outbreak’s rapid escalation could lead to dire health consequences.
The World Health Organization, the UN Refugee Agency and UNICEF are all coordinating efforts to address the outbreak, and we are seeking an additional $43 million for our efforts over the next three months.
STATE OF WORLD’S DRINKING WATER
A new report by WHO, UNICEF and the World Bank says that to achieve universal access to safe drinking water by 2030, governments and partners must dramatically increase political commitment, and also quadruple investments.
According to the State of the World’s Drinking Water report, over 2 billion people have gained access to safe drinking water in the past two decades. However, while there is positive progress, it is fragile and inequitable, with one-quarter of the world’s population still left behind.
They say that climate change, as well as rapid urbanization, is worsening the challenges of bringing clean drinking water to everyone.
UNHCR
UNHCR says that, in recent months, funding shortfalls have forced them to make cuts to their assistance to refugees and other people forcibly displaced in a number of operations across the world.
They say that without an injection of at least US$700 million before the end of the year, the next round of cuts in assistance will be catastrophic for people in need.
For example, in Uganda, which is experiencing an Ebola outbreak, UNHCR is unable to procure enough hygiene kits to help combat the disease.
They are particularly concerned about the funding gaps in the Middle East as winter approaches. Further cuts in cash assistance will impact 1.7 million people in Lebanon, Jordan and Yemen, with thousands of families unable to cover the cost of getting warm clothes or affording heating for their homes.
WOMEN IN PEACE AND HUMANITARIAN PROCESSES
Today, our colleagues at the Department of Peace Operations and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs have organized a Leadership Dialogue on “Making Women’s Leadership and Participation in Peace and Humanitarian Processes a Norm”. This event addresses the fact that women’s participation and gender equality commitments are often pushed aside when conflict intensifies – the exact time when these commitments should actually be implemented with extra care.
Participants, including UN and OCHA leadership and women activists from Mali and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, highlighted best practices where peacekeeping missions have helped expand political spaces for women during such uncertain times.
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS
Croatia and Eritrea have paid their dues to the United Nations, bringing us up to 135.
**HYBRID BRIEFING TOMORROW
Tomorrow, at 12:30 pm, there will be a press briefing by the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Li Junhua, who is also the Secretary-General of the 2023 Water Conference.
He will be joined by representatives of the Netherlands and Tajikistan, who are co-hosts.
