HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
FRIDAY, 17 MARCH 2023
DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF KOREA
In a statement issued today, the Secretary-General strongly condemns the launch of yet another ballistic missile of intercontinental range by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
The Secretary-General reiterates his calls on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to immediately desist from taking any further destabilising actions, to fully comply with its international obligations under all relevant Security Council resolutions, and to resume dialogue leading to sustainable peace and the complete and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
SECURITY COUNCIL/UKRAINE
This afternoon, at 3:00 p.m., there will be a Security Council meeting on Maintenance of Peace and Security of Ukraine. Martin Griffiths, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, is expected to brief Council members byvideoconference.
UKRAINE
The UN team on the ground today said that another humanitarian convoy reached the front-line community of Beryslav in the southern region of Kherson, in Ukraine. The convoy was carrying food, clothing, blankets, medical kits, solar lamps, jerry cans, electric heaters, and hygiene supplies for nearly 6,000 residents, including more than 520 children and as many as 400 people with disabilities.
That aid was provided by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the World Food Programme (WFP), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the international NGO HEKS EPER, Swiss Church Aid. Beryslav is exposed to regular shelling, which has reportedly caused extensive damage to homes and civilian infrastructure. An estimated quarter of residential buildings there has been damaged or destroyed.
The UN partners on the ground note that the community has no gas supply, and water supplies have been interrupted in some locations. Mine contamination has prevented residents from cultivating their land. Because agriculture is one of the main livelihoods for people there, the community now depends on humanitarian assistance.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that residents urgently need clothes, food, shelter materials, access to water and sanitation, and other basic supplies and services. So far this year, the UN has sent four humanitarian convoys to the Kherson region to support some 15,000 residents in the most affected communities.
LEBANON
Joanna Wronecka, the Special Coordinator for Lebanon and Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, briefed the Security Council yesterday on the implementation of resolution 1701. In a closed session, Ms. Wronecka spoke about the impact of the presidential vacuum, that is approaching its fifth month in Lebanon, and how it is contributing to the paralysis of state institutions. She reiterated our commitment to continue standing by Lebanon and its people.
TROPICAL CYCLONE FREDDY
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today said that in Malawi, search and rescue operations continue, following tropical Cyclone Freddy. Yesterday alone, 442 people were rescued. As flood waters begin to subside, relief efforts are expanding and focusing on reaching displaced people.
In Chikwawa, one of the districts with the highest number of displaced people, the World Food Programme (WFP) and its partners have distributed super cereal – which is a blend of corn and soy - to all displacement sites. Similar efforts are underway in other districts. However, some areas remain cut off due to the extremely challenging conditions. Aid workers are mobilizing air transport and boats to ship supplies in locations that can’t be accessed by road.
OCHA also said that it is concerned by the risk of cholera spreading in flood-impacted areas. The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and its partners are working to clean latrines in schools that are serving as shelters in Blantyre and will also install water storage bladders to provide safe drinking water.
In Mozambique, the UN team is working closely with authorities to provide aid to over 49,000 people displaced and to access areas that remain isolated by flood water. Cholera is also spreading and there are not enough water disinfection supplies to support containment activities to control the outbreak.
Yesterday’s allocation of $10 million by the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) will help address some of the gaps in the response to cholera, floods and general support following the cyclone. However, more funding is urgently needed.
TÜRKIYE/SYRIA
In Türkiye, floodwaters have now inundated camps housing people displaced by last month’s earthquakes, and as of yesterday, 2.3 million people are sheltering in temporary settlements – with 1.6 million of them in informal sites. Many camps lack access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene facilities, and overcrowding is a major concern.
Access to education is also a problem for nearly 4 million children, of whom 350,000 are refugees and migrants. The UN and its partners have now set up 87 temporary learning sites for more than 6,000 children in Gaziantep, Hatay and Kah-raman-marash.
Agencies and partners have reached more than 520,000 people with water, sanitation and hygiene assistance. About 45,000 people have received health and nutrition assistance.
Meanwhile, UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination teams are continuing to work with Turkish authorities on the relief.
And in Syria nearly 900 trucks carrying aid from seven UN agencies have crossed into the northwest from southern Türkiye into Syria.
The UN and its partners continue to scale up efforts to help millions of people affected by the earthquakes, and as a reminder, in northwest Syria, more than 100,000 people have been internally displaced since February 6th. In the past ten days, the UN has also run vaccination campaigns in different parts of Syria.
SOUTH SUDAN
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) reported today a tragic incident around Jebel-Melle in South Sudan, in which 11 children lost their lives, and one was injured, in an incident involving unexploded ordnance.
The Mission says that the incident of Jebel-Melle was reported yesterday through the UN Mine Action Service. Coordination with medical organizations is ongoing, and with Government offices as well.
AFGHANISTAN
In Afghanistan, due to lack of funds, the World Food Programme (WFP) today said that it has been forced to drastically reduce critical lifesaving assistance in March to millions of vulnerable Afghanis. In March, at least 4 million people will receive just half of what they need to get by.
This is the most difficult time of the year for rural families, as food stocks have run out before the next harvest and already vulnerable Afghans are just emerging out of yet another freezing winter.
WFP warned that the country is at the highest risk of famine in a quarter of a century and one in two families is in crisis-coping mode in order to survive.
WFP urgently needs $93 million to assist 13 million people in April and $800 million for the next six months. There have been generous donations from donors, but we need more.
SAHEL CHILDREN
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today said that ten million children in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger are in dire need of humanitarian assistance, largely as a result of conflict in the region.
Some of the armed groups that operate across vast swathes of these three countries employ tactics that include blockading towns and villages and sabotaging water networks.
The crisis in the central Sahel remains chronically underfunded, and UNICEF has appealed for $473 million.
PERU
In Peru, Cyclone Yaku has brought heavy rains and flooding to the country. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today said that 40 per cent of the provinces are under emergency and nearly 30 thousand people have been impacted since January. The UN team, led by the Resident Coordinator Igor Garafulic, is coordinating with the Peruvian authorities to support our response efforts.
Following an assessment, a cash transfer emergency project will begin today in Piura, the most affected region, to assist with nutritional needs of nearly 2,000 impacted families.
VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN
In Geneva today, in an event on the margins of the Human Rights Council, the UN Special Representative on Violence against children, Najat Maalla M’jid, made a strong call on the urgent need to ensure a safe, inclusive and empowering digital environment for all children, leaving no one behind.
She said that one in three internet users are children. They are connecting in greater numbers and at younger ages. The risks of harm to children in the digital environment are emerging quickly and spreading rapidly.
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS
Bahrain, Kyrgyzstan, Qatar and South Africa paid their dues in full to the UN’s regular budget.
***The guests at the Noon Briefing were Tareq Talahma, the Acting Director of Operations and Advocacy Division]in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Osnat Lubrani, the Acting Director of UN Women’s Geneva Office and Head of its Humanitarian Section; and Dominic MacSorley, the Humanitarian Ambassador of Concern Worldwide. They spoke to reporters about a just concluded two-day visit to Haiti.
