HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC

SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES

THURSDAY, 1 OCTOBER 2020

BEIJING+25 
This morning, the Secretary-General spoke at the High-Level Meeting on the 25th Anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women. 
He said that women and girls are bearing the brunt of the massive social and economic impact of the pandemic.  “Twenty-five years after Beijing, we are facing a women-led recession as women employed in the informal economy are the first to lose their jobs,” he said, adding that unless we act now, COVID-19 could wipe out a generation of fragile progress towards gender equality. 
The Secretary-General said that the pandemic demonstrates that we urgently need a strong push to meet the unfulfilled promise of Beijing: ensuring that there is equal representation of women in leadership positions and everywhere decisions are taken that impact people’s lives. 
He encouraged all Member States to make concrete and ambitious commitments to women’s leadership and full participation and urged to step up support for the grassroots civil society organizations that have always been at the vanguard of the women’s rights leadership. 
 
EDUCATION PLUS INITIATIVE
On Friday, the Spokesman will be joined by the Heads of UN Women, UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNICEF and the Deputy Director General of UNESCO, who will brief the press on the Education Plus Initiative: Empowerment of Adolescent Girls and Young Women in sub-Saharan Africa. 
  
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC   
This morning, during a high-level meeting on the Central African Republic, the Secretary-General said that the coming period will be decisive for the country. 
Authorities and all national stakeholders have a historic responsibility to ensure the proper conduct of the forthcoming elections, he added. 
The Secretary-General highlighted progress in the implementation of the Political Agreement in areas such as legislative reforms, as well as the extension of State authority across the country. He also noted that the security situation has improved in some areas.   
However, Mr. Guterres expressed his concerns about the significant number of human rights violations and breaches of the peace Agreement. These attacks must stop immediately, he said. He called upon authorities to redouble their efforts to bring the perpetrators to justice, protect civilians and strengthen measures to address violence against women.  
Turning to the humanitarian situation, the Secretary-General noted that again this year, the humanitarian community has received less than half of the funds required to meet the needs of the 2.6 million people in a precarious situation.  Let there be no mistake, he added. He said lasting peace will not be possible without compliance with the Agreement and without real progress on the development front. 
 
UNIFIL
The UN Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, welcomes today’s announcement of a framework agreement to launch negotiations between Lebanon and Israel on maritime and land border demarcation between the two countries.  
The UN Mission stands ready to extend to the parties all the support at its disposal and facilitate efforts towards a resolution of this issue and move forward with Blue Line demarcation. 
Under Security Council Resolution 1701, UNIFIL is supporting any agreement between the two countries aimed at reinforcing confidence in getting the parties to re-commit to the sanctity of the Blue Line and the broader border demarcation process. 
The spokesman added he expects to have more on this issue from the Secretary-General later today.  
 
SUDAN  
In Sudan, the number of people impacted by the unprecedented floods affecting the country now stands at 860,000 and continues to increase. More than 120 people have also died. 
More than 400 schools and thousands of health facilities have been damaged, compromising education and health services. 
Nearly 30,000 latrines have collapsed, which could hinder the prevention and treatment of potential disease outbreaks. 
We and our partners are continuing to support the Government’s response efforts to help those in need. So far, we have reached more than 400,000 people. 
The lack of funding is posing a serious challenge, especially for the health sector, as well as in the areas of water, sanitation and hygiene, for which aid is critical to respond to both the floods and the current pandemic. 
 
COVID-19/INDIA 
In India, the UN team, led by the Resident Coordinator Renata Dessallien, continues to stand with the country as it battles the unprecedented challenge of more than 6.3 million cases of COVID-19.  
The World Health Organization has helped trace 10 million case contacts and supplied more than 1 million test kits. WHO and UNICEF have trained nearly 4 million frontline health workers. UNICEF has also reached 40 million children through education initiatives and 5 million women and children with essential healthcare.  
For its part, the UN Development Programme distributed nearly a million pieces of safety equipment to eight health departments across the country. The agency also provided nearly half a million safety kits and 60 million kilos of food to 200,000 sanitation workers.  
A World Food Programme mobile app has helped link 8 million people to the public food distribution system. And to support businesses, the UN Industrial Development Organization and the ILO are providing support to medium and small businesses.  
To help women impacted by violence, UN Women has trained 100,000 people to help women impacted.
 
NANSEN AWARD 
The UN Refugee Agency has announced that Mayerlín Vergara Pérez, from Colombia, is this year’s  laureate of the Nansen Refugee Award.   
As the Caribbean Regional Coordinator for the Renacer Foundation, she has devoted more than two decades helping the Colombian non-profit reach its goal of eradicating sexual exploitation and abuse of children and adolescents.   
Founded 32 years ago, the organisation has helped over 22,000 child and adolescent survivors of commercial sexual exploitation, and survivors of other types of sexual and gender-based violence.  
The Nansen Refugee Award honours outstanding service to people who have been forcibly displaced. In the announcement for this year’s prize, Filippo Grandi, the Head of UNHCR, said Mayerlin’s unwavering dedication has saved the lives of hundreds of refugee children and restored their hopes for a better future.      
The Secretary-General joins the Agency in congratulating her.

GUATEMALA 
In Guatemala, the World Food Programme today said that undernutrition, overweight and obesity cost the country about $12 billion in 2018 – that’s 16 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product. 
In a new report, WFP said that out of those $12 billion, $8 billion were lost to the  economic, social, and health related impacts of undernutrition, the remaining $4 billion to overweight and obesity - which is a growing concern for the country. 
In addition, malnutrition negatively impacted the population’s intellectual development. According to the report, in 2018, more than 100,000 students had to repeat grades, with undernutrition affecting nearly 45 percent of them. Only 9 out of 100 children with undernutrition finished primary school. 

NUCLEAR WEAPONS 
In response to a question about Malaysia’s ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), the Spokesman said the UN is aware that the Foreign Minister of Malaysia signed the country’s instrument of ratification on the 30th of September. It was subsequently received by the UN. 

As of now, 46 States have ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. According to the provisions, the Treaty will enter into force 90 days after the fiftieth instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession has been deposited with the UN. 
The Secretary-General repeatedly said that he looks forward to the entry-into-force of the treaty which, once in force, would constitute a pillar of the disarmament regime. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons reflects the desire of a large number of States to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons – the UN’s highest disarmament priority.  
 
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF OLDER PERSONS  
This year’s International Day of Older Persons highlights the role of the health care workforce in contributing to the health of older persons, with special recognition of the nursing profession and with a primary focus on the role of women.  
In his message for the Day, the Secretary-General emphasizes that older people must be a priority in our efforts to overcome COVID-19. He says that as we seek to recover better together, we must make concerted efforts across the Decade of Healthy Ageing to improve the lives of older persons, and their families and communities.   
The Secretary-General stresses that more than ever, we must listen to their voices, suggestions and ideas to build more inclusive and age-friendly societies. 
 
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION 
Grenada and Honduras have both paid their regular budget dues in full. There are now 124 Member States who have paid their budget dues in full.