HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANIE TREMBLAY,
ASSOCIATE SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
THURSDAY, 10 NOVEMBER 2022
PALESTINIAN BROADCASTERS AND JOURNALISTS
I would like to welcome this year’s participants in the Shireen Abu Akleh Training Programme for Palestinian Broadcasters and Journalists.
I believe they are all sitting at the back of the room. Welcome to the noon briefing, and welcome to the UN. We are very happy that you are with us today and that you are participating in this Programme.
Just a quick note on the programme. It was established in 1995, and since then 203 Palestinian journalists have benefitted from the programme. So, welcome to New York. Welcome here today.
SECRETARY-GENERAL TRAVELS
The Secretary-General is on his way to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where as you know, he will address the ASEAN-UN summit, focusing on regional and global trends, the climate emergency, and the situation in Myanmar. And as you know, from there he will push further East and he will travel to Bali, in Indonesia, to attend the annual Group of 20 [G20] Summit, where he will address sessions on food and energy security, as well as on health.
UKRAINE
In Ukraine, our colleagues on the ground tell us that the United Nations, NGOs and the entire humanitarian community continue to work to sustain aid operations and to reach people impacted by the war with the life-saving support they need.
Since February, aid workers have provided critical aid and protection services to some 13.5 million people across all regions of Ukraine.
More than 4.2 million people have received cash assistance over the past eight months. Markets are reopening and the Government is working on restoring banking services in areas of the Kharkiv and Kherson region where Ukraine recently regained control. Our partners are extending their cash programmes also in these areas.
We are also working to bolster health assistance as the war continues to decimate health services, with hundreds of medical facilities damaged across the country.
For example, this month, the UN Population Fund is delivering 30 mobile clinics that will provide reproductive health services for women in at least 19 regions of Ukraine. Since the beginning of the war, we and our partners have provided health services to more than 8.6 million people.
We continue to provide water and hygiene assistance, having reached 5.7 million people, as communities face increasing difficulties in accessing clean water due to infrastructure damage.
This scale-up of humanitarian assistance in Ukraine was only possible thanks to the support of our donors. They have provided more than 70 per cent of the $4.3 billion requested for aid operations.
However, as the war continues to drive humanitarian needs in Ukraine, the international community’s support will be critical to ensure that aid organizations can continue supporting the people of Ukraine.
SECURITY COUNCIL
This morning, the Security Council held a high-level debate on the theme, “Counter-terrorism in Africa – An Imperative for Peace, Security and Development.” Speaking on behalf of the Secretary-General was, as you know, his Deputy, Amina Mohammed.
She said that nowhere has the threat of terrorism been felt more keenly than in Africa, pointing to Da’esh, Al-Qaida and their affiliates having exploited instability and conflict across the continent.
She said that their senseless, terror-fuelled violence has killed and wounded thousands, with many more – especially women and girls – continuing to suffer from the broader impact of terrorism on their lives and livelihoods.
Ms. Mohammed stressed that, in today’s hyper-connected world, the spread of terrorism in Africa is not a concern for African Member States alone.
She called for effective multilateral responses, including addressing the climate emergency, armed conflict, poverty, lawless cyberspace and the uneven recovery from COVID-19.
Those remarks were shared earlier today.
MALI - Human Rights Report
The UN Mission in Mali – MINUSMA - issued yesterday its report on trends of violations and abuses of human rights and international humanitarian law which covers the period from 1 July to 30 September 2022.
During this period, MINUSMA documented 375 violations and abuses of human rights and international humanitarian law, which represents a 20 percent decrease compared to the previous quarterly report.
In total, 243 civilians were killed, 77 injured and 55 were abducted or missing. Ten percent of them were women and one percent children, according to the data documented by the Mission. Extremist groups continued to be the main perpetrators.
The UN Mission welcomes the efforts made by the Malian authorities to combat impunity, including the announcement of the opening of investigations into allegations of violations attributed to the Malian Defense and Security Forces. The Mission continues to actively support national efforts to ensure greater respect for human rights and to end impunity, including through training and capacity-building.
LEBANON
In Lebanon, the Humanitarian Coordinator there, Imran Riza, announced today $9.5 million in new funding to prevent the spread of cholera in the country. You will recall that a cholera outbreak was declared in Lebanon last month.
The new funding from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund and the Lebanon Humanitarian Fund will focus on improving access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene in areas at high risk of the spread of cholera. The resources will help support water and wastewater systems, chlorinate household water tankers, and support cholera treatment centres.
More than 1.5 million people across Lebanon – including Lebanese people, Syrian refugees, Palestine refugees and migrants – who are at heightened risk of being exposed to cholera - will benefit from this funding.
SENIOR HUMANITARIAN TRAVEL
The Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, Joyce Msuya, has kicked off an official visit to the Republic of Korea. She is currently in Seoul.
The aim of her mission is to deepen cooperation on humanitarian issues and to hear from the Government about the pressing issues on their agendas.
While in the Republic of Korea, Ms. Msuya will meet with senior Government officials and humanitarian NGO representatives.
In Seoul, she will also meet with students at Korea University’s College of International Studies, where she will speak about today’s most pressing challenges and her hopes for young people to address them.
NEW RESIDENT COORDINATORS
We have four new Resident Coordinators to announce today. The Development Coordination Office says that Ana Graça of Portugal and Lila Pieters Yahia of Canada took up their posts as Resident Coordinators, respectively, in Panama and Mauritania this past Monday. Also, Lisa Singh of Nepal will start her role in leading our team in Mauritius and Seychelles tomorrow, while Francisco Pichon of Colombia will take up his post on Saturday in Cuba. They were all appointed by the Secretary-General and were confirmed by the respective host governments.
As representatives of the Secretary-General for development at the country level, the Resident Coordinators lead UN teams’ work on the ground to implement and also rescue the Sustainable Development Goals and supporting authorities to tackle development emergencies.
The full biographies are online.
