HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ,

DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES

FRIDAY, 8 SEPTEMBER 2023

INDIA 
The Secretary-General arrived in New Delhi a few hours ago where, tomorrow, he will be attending the annual G-20 Summit, which this year is being hosted by India.  
In a press conference he held at the UN House in Delhi, the Secretary-General welcomed the Summit’s theme “One Earth, One Family, One Future.” Unfortunately, he added, if we are indeed one global family, today resembles a rather dysfunctional one, with divisions growing, tensions flaring up, and trust eroding.  
Mr. Guterres said he had come to the G20 with a simple but urgent call for the leaders: “We must come together and act together for the common good.” He called on the countries assembled at the summit to show leadership on climate and on rescuing the Sustainable Development Goals.  
The Secretary-General called for the implementation of a Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) stimulus fund of $500 billion. He also called for an effective debt workout mechanism to support payment suspensions, longer lending terms and lower rates on fairer terms. He reiterated his appeal for change in the business model of Multilateral Development Banks to massively leverage private finance. 
Tomorrow and Sunday, the Secretary-General will participate in a number of G20 sessions and hold bilateral meetings.  
 
SECURITY COUNCIL/UKRAINE 
This morning, the Security Council held a meeting on maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine.  
Briefing Council members, the Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and Americas in the Department of Political Affairs, Miroslav Jenča, said that Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine – launched in violation of the UN Charter and of international law – continues to inflict large scale suffering on the people of Ukraine as they face daily, intensifying attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure.  
Mr. Jenča noted that the continuing relentless attacks, targeting Ukraine’s grain infrastructure on the Black Sea and Danube River ports - after Russia decided not to extend the Black Sea Initiative - risk having far-reaching consequences for global food security. He stressed that attacks directed against civilians and civilian infrastructure, including objects necessary for food production and distribution, are prohibited under international law.  
Mr. Jenča reiterated that the UN remains fully committed to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, extending to its territorial waters. 
Mr. Jenča added that the UN is concerned over reports of the Russian Federation holding so-called elections in areas of Ukraine currently under the temporary military control of the Russian Federation. He emphasized that these so-called elections in the occupied areas of Ukraine have no legal grounds. 
 
UKRAINE 
Also on Ukraine, as the new school year commences across Europe, the UN Refugee Agency warns that refugee children and youth from Ukraine now face their third year of disrupted education, following the full-scale invasion in February 2022.  
In a new Education Policy Brief released today, titled “Education on Hold”, UNHCR notes that while 30 to 50 per cent of some 5.9 million Ukrainian refugees across Europe are children, only about half were enrolled in schools in host countries for the 2022-2023 academic year.  
UNHCR is concerned that unless urgent action is taken, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugee children will continue to miss out on education this year.  
And yesterday, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict held an extraordinary meeting to strengthen the protection of cultural heritage in Ukraine. During its session the Committee adopted a declaration deploring that serious damages were caused by Russian missile strikes to historical buildings of cultural significance within the properties in L'viv, Odesa and Chernihiv. 
The Committee decided to provisionally inscribe 20 cultural properties in Ukraine on the International List of Cultural Property under Enhanced Protection.
 
LEBANON  
The Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon, Imran Riza, warned today that the continuing clashes in the Ein El-Hilweh Palestine Refugee Camp, along with the ongoing takeover of eight UNRWA schools, are preventing the access of nearly 6,000 children who are about to begin their school year. 
In a statement, Mr. Riza urged the armed groups to stop the fighting in the camp and vacate these schools immediately. He also called for the facilitation of the work of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East -UNRWA, and other humanitarian organizations to provide much-needed protection and assistance to families in need in the camp. 

FOOD PRICES
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported today that international food commodity prices declined in August, led by staples other than rice and sugar. The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of globally-traded food commodities, averaged 121.4 points in August, down 2.1 percent from July and as much as 24 percent below its March 2022 peak.
FAO also released a new Cereal Supply and Demand Brief, which forecasts that world cereal production in 2023 will increase by 0.9 percent from the previous year to reach 2 815 million tonnes, on par with the record output realized in 2021.
 
INTERNATIONAL DAYS 
Today is International Literacy Day.  
Audrey Azoulay, the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), reiterated in a message that literacy is a passport to communication with others, thereby strengthening understanding within and between peoples. 
And tomorrow is the International Day to protect Education from Attack. In his message for the Day, the Secretary-General says that education is a pathway to a better future for every person. He calls on all countries to ensure the protection of schools, children and teachers at all times, and urges all countries to endorse the Safe Schools Declaration. 
  
NOON BRIEFING GUEST 
Yasmine Sherif, the Executive Director of Education Cannot Wait (ECW) briefed reporters on their new report, which analyzes the latest trends in education in emergencies, including alarming increasing needs, and reveals new data on Education Cannot Wait’s work with the UN and civil society partners in supporting quality education for girls and boys caught in crises worldwide.