HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC

SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES

MONDAY, 2 AUGUST 2021

ETHIOPIA 
Martin Griffiths, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, is continuing his mission in Ethiopia. 
In Addis Ababa today, he met with the Minister of Peace, Mrs. Kamil, as well as the Amhara Regional President, Mr. Teshager, to discuss the humanitarian situation in Amhara. He also had discussions with the African Union Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, Amira El Fadil, and Member State representatives to Ethiopia. 
Over the weekend, in the southeast region of Tigray, he visited a health centre and a school, both located in Hawzen. He met with women, men, and local authorities. In Firweni, in Eastern Tigray, he visited a site for internally displaced persons and heard from affected people, community leaders and humanitarian partners.    
We also have an update on the humanitarian situation in the Afar region, which is deteriorating due to the spillover of the conflict in Tigray. About 70,000 people have been displaced, according to regional authorities. There are also 35,000 people displaced by the ongoing Afar–Somali ethnic conflict in the south.  
Afar authorities have distributed food and non-food items to some of the recently displaced people. Humanitarian partners will provide health, protection, and emergency food, water, hygiene and sanitation assistance to 70,000 displaced people. In collaboration with the Afar Regional Health Bureau and humanitarian partners, UNICEF has deployed four mobile health and nutrition teams to provide services. 

MYANMAR  
From Myanmar, the UN team has reaffirmed its solidarity with the people of the country in their pursuit for democracy, peace, human rights and the rule of law, six months after the Myanmar military seized control over the democratically elected government.   
Since February 1st, at least 930 people – many of them women and children – have been killed at the hands of security forces, while thousands more have been injured.  
At least 3,000 people remain under detention – this includes politicians, authors, human rights defenders, teachers, health care workers, civil servants, journalists, monks, celebrities, and ordinary citizens.  
The protracted crisis has impacted humanitarian access to people in need, as well as education, health, and the fight against COVID-19. It has also, of course, affected the basic rights of the people of Myanmar to express themselves and have a government that represents them.  
For their part, the UN Population Fund and UN Women in Myanmar have warned that the compounded political and health crisis, coupled with an intensification of fighting, is putting more women and girls this year at risk. They also said that the deteriorating socio-economic situation means that hundreds of thousands more people now are in need of humanitarian aid. 
Since February 1st, women and girls have been at the frontlines as leaders of civil society organizations, civil servants, activists, journalists, artists and influencers, exercising their fundamental rights to express their hopes for the future of the country.   

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC 
The UN Mission in the Central African Republic, MINUSCA, reports that last Saturday, in Paoua, in the Ouham-Pendé prefecture, over 200 hundred suspected combatants from the 3R armed group (Retour, Réclamation et Réhabilitation) attacked an army post of the Central African forces as well as the village of Mann. The armed combatants reportedly killed seven civilians and injured two others during an exchange of fire with the country’s armed forces. 
UN peacekeepers were immediately deployed to ensure the protection of civilians. The combatants fled and injured civilians were treated at the local hospital. Our peacekeeping colleagues tell us that the situation is now relatively calm. 
We also have an update on the final round of legislative elections, which took place last week in the seven constituencies that had not yet completed the process. All 262 polling stations opened without major incidents. 
The UN Mission, in close coordination with the Central African defense and security forces, secured the polling places to allow civilians to safely cast their ballots. The Mission also deployed monitoring teams to all constituencies to ensure a smooth conduct of the polls.

SYRIA 
The Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, over the weekend, said he is following with great concern the developments in southwest Syria. He is actively in contact with relevant parties to ensure that violence ceases and he is calling on all to de-escalate.   
In a statement over the weekend, Mr. Pedersen stressed to all that the principle of the protection of civilians and international humanitarian law must be upheld.  The Special Envoy emphasized the humanitarian dimension of the situation, recalling the messages he received from people in Daraa stating they did not want to leave their homes.   
The Special Envoy said this uptick in tension in the southwest reiterates the need for all in Syria to agree on a nationwide ceasefire, in line with Security Council resolution 2254 (2015). 

MALAYSIA/COVID-19 
From Malaysia, the UN team there, led by Resident Coordinator Stefan Priesner, continues to support authorities to roll out the COVID-19 national vaccination plan. 
The UN team is helping authorities prepare for the vaccination of undocumented people, refugees and asylum-seekers. This includes technical and advocacy support to prepare specific guidelines. UNHCR is helping to gather data on refugee populations, while we are also working on outreach and mapping of vulnerable groups.  
The UN team has also been working on risk communication and community engagement in various languages, as well as on outreach programmes and hotlines to increase access to information about vaccines. This includes a website that is tailored to support refugees, asylum-seekers and organizations supporting refugees.  
Our team on the ground is also supporting authorities in tracking public sentiment to help tackle rumours and misinformation. 

RESIDENT COORDINATOR / URUGUAY 
Pablo Ruiz Hiebra of Spain is the new Resident Coordinator in Uruguay, according to our colleagues in the UN Development Coordination Office. His appointment follows the approval of the host Government.  He took up his post yesterday, August 1st.  
Resident Coordinators lead the work of UN teams on the ground, including supporting authorities in respond to COVID and to recover better to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.  
They also represent the Secretary-General for development issues at the country level.  
  
WORLD BREASTFEEDING WEEK  
This week is World Breastfeeding Week. In a joint statement, the heads of UNICEF and WHO said the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the fragility of the gains realized in breastfeeding rates in the past decades.   
They are calling for measures that prioritize breastfeeding-friendly environments for mothers and babies.    
 
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS 
Bolivia and Mozambique have paid their full budget dues, taking us up to 117 payments from Member States.