HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC

SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES

MONDAY, 10 APRIL 2023​​​​

SECURITY COUNCIL  
The Security Council this morning met in a session on Risks stemming from violations of the agreements regulating the export of weapons and military equipment.  Addressing members was Izumi Nakamitsu, the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs. She said the illicit and unregulated trade and the diversion of weapons and their ammunition has been a major concern for the international community.  
To respond to these risks, she said, States have established a number of international, regional and bilateral arms control treaties, agreements and frameworks to prevent and eradicate the illicit trade and diversion of conventional arms, to regulate the international arms trade and to promote transparency in weapons transfers. At the international level, this includes, for instance, the Arms Trade Treaty as well as the UN Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons, the International Tracing Instrument, and the Firearms Protocol. 
She said her office has been supporting States in the full and effective implementation of these instruments and she urged Member States to comply 
with their international obligations, and those who have not yet done so to join the Arms Trade Treaty. 

COMMISSION ON POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT 
In New York, the Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, spoke at the opening of the 56th session of the Commission on Population and Development, which will focus on the topic of education. 
Ms. Mohammed said we need to reimagine and transform our educational systems and we need to learn how to learn throughout our lives and learn to live in peace with one another and with nature.   
She also said it’s essential that we stand united on our call for the de facto authorities in Afghanistan and to reverse their bans on education and employment, while continuing to support women’s movements and innovative solutions.  

UKRAINE 
On Ukraine, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is alarmed by the impact of hostilities on hospitals and health workers, amid shelling of areas along the front lines.  
Humanitarian colleagues on the ground are telling us that, today, a hospital in the city of Kherson was damaged after being hit. And on Friday, at least two health workers were reportedly injured after an ambulance came under shelling in Beryslav town, in an area under Ukrainian control in the Kherson region.  
Since the start of the full-scale war, health facilities on both sides of the front lines in Ukraine have been destroyed or damaged. WHO says there have been 24 attacks on health care in the first three months of this year alone.  
In 2022, nearly 70 percent of all attacks against health care workers worldwide happened in Ukraine.  
We once again stress that health workers and facilities must be protected under international humanitarian law.  
We, alongside our partners in Ukraine, are working to keep health services running. In recent months, humanitarian convoys have delivered medicine and medical supplies to several locations along the front line in the Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. Last year, we and our partners provided health services to some 9.4 million people in Ukraine.    

MALI 
In Mali, the International Mediation – which is a group which includes the UN mission, Algeria, the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the European Union, the U.S. and France, presented concrete proposals to the parties to relaunch the implementation of the peace agreement. In a statement issued following their meeting on Friday, they expressed their concern about tensions between the signatory parties. In this context, they appeal to the Parties to refrain from statements and actions that could jeopardize the Mediation's efforts to facilitate the successful conclusion of the peace process, to translate their stated commitment to the peace agreement into concrete actions, and to place the interests of Mali and its people above all other considerations.    
The International Mediation also reaffirmed its commitment to continue to work with the signatory Parties and the Malian people in their quest for lasting peace, stability, and reconciliation.  

And as a reminder, the Security Council will discuss Mali on Wednesday. El-Ghassim Wane, the head of the peacekeeping mission, is in new York and he will speak to reporters at the stakeout afterwards.

MINURSO
Between 5 and 7 April, a convoy completed deliveries to two of the MINURSO Team Sites east of the berm at Tifariti and Mehaires, with the support of the Frente POLISARIO, as well as Morocco.  
These deliveries will enable those Team Sites to remain operational. You will recall that on 30 March, we had welcomed agreements reached to proceed with a ground convoy to resupply the Team Sites east of the berm that are in critical need of supplies, especially fuel. 
We appreciate that safe passage was provided east of the berm to allow the Mission to overcome some of the logistical challenges it is facing.   
It is vital to build on this momentum and to ensure that the Mission can maintain its efforts on the ground and presence throughout the Territory in order to create space for the political process to progress under the facilitation of the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy, Staffan de Mistura. 

CHINA 
The Under-Secretary-General for Peacebuilding and Political Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, is visiting China, Japan and the Republic of Korea from 10 to 18 April to discuss issues of mutual importance.  
In Beijing today, she met with Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu. They discussed developments in the region, including Afghanistan, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and Myanmar, as well as Ukraine.  
USG DiCarlo will be in Tokyo on 12 April and in Seoul starting 16 April.  

SENIOR PERSONNEL APPOINTMENT 
Today, the Secretary-General appointed AnneMarie van den Berg of the Netherlands as Assistant Secretary-General for Supply Chain Management in the Department of Operational Support (DOS).   
She succeeds Christian Saunders [of the United Kingdom], who was appointed Special Coordinator on improving UN response to sexual exploitation and abuse, and to whom the Secretary-General extends his deepest appreciation for his service in DOS. 
Serving as the Acting Assistant Secretary-General for Supply Chain Management since September of last year, Ms. van den Berg brings over 25 years of experience with the UN system, leading and coordinating complex logistical and supply chain initiatives.