HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
FRIDAY, 13 JANUARY 2023
AFGHANISTAN
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Roza Otunbayeva, addressed the Security Council in a private session this morning. She reiterated that the Taliban’s decisions restricting the rights of women and girls – including the recent bans on higher education for women and participation in the humanitarian workforce - are grave violations of fundamental rights. They also contradict assurances that the Taliban gave prior to taking power about the role of women in their country.
The Special Representative also outlined the potential negative impact of such decisions, including, most immediately, on the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Afghans in desperate need. She stressed the need for Council unity in the face of these decisions.
The Council also heard from Catherine Russell, the Executive Director of UNICEF, who focused her briefing on the situation of girls and children in Afghanistan.
UKRAINE SECURITY COUNCIL
This afternoon, the Security Council will reconvene in an open meeting on Ukraine.
Rosemary di Carlo, the Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, will brief on behalf of the UN.
ETHIOPIA
In Ethiopia, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that aid continues to be sent into the Tigray region.
Since mid-November - following the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement - some 3,000 trucks carrying more than 105,000 metric tons of food, as well as health, shelter, water and other supplies, have been brought into the region through four road corridors.
The [UN] Humanitarian Air Service and Ethiopian Airlines are now conducting regular flights to Tigray.
Also, since mid-November, food has been distributed to more than 3 million people.
However, some areas remain hard to reach, including some border areas in the north and areas off the main roads.
Humanitarian needs remain extremely high in parts of Afar and Amhara that were impacted by the conflict. The distribution of food and other assistance continues, although gaps remain, including in areas where people are returning to their homes.
Meanwhile, in the eastern and southern parts of Ethiopia, communities continue to suffer from the devastating drought impacting the Horn of Africa that we have been telling you about.
SOUTH SUDAN
During a start-of-year press conference in Juba today, the Head of the UN mission in South Sudan [UNMISS] Nicholas Haysom, said that 2023 will determine whether the transition to peace, outlined in the Roadmap, can actually be achieved. He confirmed that several key milestones were already reached in the implementation of the Revitalized Peace Agreement, but it will be crucial that the country meets all of its critical benchmarks.
He expressed concerns regarding escalating violence in the Greater Pibor Administrative Area and Jonglei State.
On the humanitarian front, Mr. Haysom warned that the situation remains dire, worsened by the conflict, climate shocks and extensive flooding.
He highlighted the contributions that the UN family, including
the UN Peacekeeping mission made to peace and stability in 2022, and hopes that it will continue in 2023.
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
A quick note from the Central African Republic that two international consultants working for the UN peacekeeping mission in that country were released without charges yesterday.
The consultants – both French citizens - were arrested by the authorities after landing at the airport in Bangui on 10 January.
In a statement, the Mission said they regret this incident, and remains committed to supporting the Central African government in their efforts towards stability, national reconciliation and peace, in accordance with its mandate given to it by the Security Council.
IRENA ASSEMBLY
Tomorrow the Secretary-General will address – by video message - the 13th session of the Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), which is taking place in Abu Dhabi.
He will underscore that if we are to avert a climate catastrophe, renewables are the only credible path forward and he’ll call for doubling their share in the global electricity grid by 2030.
The Secretary-General will also stress the need to reduce the capital cost for renewables – and ensure that financing flows to those who need it most.
And our colleagues from the Department of Operational Support and Peacekeeping tell us that the “Energy Compact on renewable energy for UN Peacekeeping” was launched earlier today as a sidelines event.
The Assistant Secretary-General for Support Operations, Lisa Buttenheim, said that the Energy Compact seeks to accelerate the transition of UN peacekeeping operations to renewable energy through public-private partnerships by developing local capacity to supply renewable energy to UN missions and, ultimately, to benefit host communities.
SYRIA
On Syria, the Secretary-General's Deputy Envoy, Najat Rochdi, chaired the Humanitarian Task Force meeting in Geneva yesterday and urged its members to continue their support to Syrians.
She recalled that Syria starts 2023 facing a multitude of challenges that make it one of world’s most complex humanitarian and protection emergencies. Risks of inflation, food insecurity and resurgence of cholera were some that were highlighted during the meeting, in addition to the situation in Al Hol and Al Roj camps.
Ms. Rochdi maintained that additional funding is urgently needed, given that 15.3 million people need aid, and that is a number that is expected to rise.
PRESS BRIEFING
The Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs and the Secretary-General of the UN Water Conference, Li Junhua; Henk Ovink, the Special Envoy of the Netherlands for Water; and Sulton Rahimzoda, the Special Envoy of the President of Tajikistan on Water, briefed reporters on the UN Water Conference, which is co-hosted by the Netherlands and Tajikistan and will take place in New York from 22 to 24 March.
