HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ,

DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES

WEDNESDAY, 2 FEBRUARY 2022

SG TRAVELS 
The Secretary-General leaves today for Beijing where  he will be attending the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics on Friday. While in Beijing, he will also meet with the President of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, and Chinese authorities. The Secretary-General is expected to be back in New York on Sunday, the 6th of February. 

SG CEASEFIRE APPEAL 
Yesterday afternoon, the Secretary-General spoke to reporters at the stakeout to say that, as he prepares to leave for the Winter Olympics, he is making the strongest possible appeal for all parties in Ethiopia for an immediate cessation of hostilities.   
And this can allow for effective humanitarian access and relief to all affected populations throughout Ethiopia, he added.     
He called on all parties to follow the finest tradition of the Olympic spirit to save lives, overcome differences and find the path to real peace.     
The Secretary-General was also asked about the coup attempt that took place yesterday in Guinea-Bissau and he said that it is clear that coups are totally unacceptable. He warned that we are seeing a terrible multiplication of coups and he called for soldiers to go back to their barracks. 
 
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO 
The Head of the UN Peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Bintou Keita, strongly condemned an attack yesterday evening by CODECO militias against a site for internally displaced people in Savo, in the Ituri Province. Our colleagues say that at least 50 people, including women and children, were killed in this attack, and another 36 were injured. 
The UN Mission dispatched a patrol to the site upon receiving an alert about the attack. They also notified national security forces as well as its community alert network. UN peacekeepers exchanged fire with the assailants shortly after arriving on the scene and conducted joint operations with the Congolese army into the early morning, pushing the assailants out of the area and securing the IDP site to prevent further attacks. 
Humanitarian partners are providing medical supplies. 
This area is home to 600,000 displaced people. Our humanitarian colleagues are telling us that access by road is restricted due to insecurity, and the delivery of humanitarian assistance is challenged. 

BURKINA FASO  
The head of the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel, Mahamet Saleh Annadif, is travelling today to Accra, in Ghana, where he will take part in the second extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government on the political situation in Burkina Faso. This summit is scheduled to take place tomorrow and is organized by the Economic Community of West African States – or ECOWAS.  
This summit follows the joint ECOWAS-UN mission in Burkina Faso.   
In a summary of the visit published by his office, Mr. Annadif reiterated that the joint delegation called for a rapid return to constitutional order in the country.   
He also underlined that he told military authorities that nothing can justify a coup d’état. He urged them to cooperate with ECOWAS and the international community to find effective solutions to the current crisis. 

MYANMAR 
The Deputy Spokesman said the UN is aware of a recent media interview given by the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Myanmar, Noeleen Heyzer, and regret misrepresentation indicating that she used the term “power sharing” in the context of the current crisis in Myanmar.   
The Special Envoy has consistently advocated for a Myanmar-led process that is inclusive and reflective of the will and needs of the people.   
From the outset of her tenure, the Special Envoy has stressed that we must stand firm with the people of Myanmar and act in support of their aspirations for an inclusive society and protection for all communities, including the Rohingya.   
On the role of the military, the Special Envoy has made clear that narrowing the trust deficit requires first, the immediate cessation of military attacks, including aerial operations.  
To create any space for talks about peace, national unity and democracy, the Special Envoy has underscored that there has to be progress through efforts that are credible in the eyes of the people. 

SYRIA 
Turning to Syria, two baby girls, one a week old and the other two months old, passed away yesterday, reportedly due to exposure to the cold. Both children lived in displacement camps in the Idlib countryside. 
In the north-west, out of the 2.8 million displaced people, 1.7 million people live in camps or informal settings, the majority with inadequate shelter.  
Since the 18th of January, 10,000 tents have been damaged or destroyed across Idlib and northern Aleppo and over 250,000 people have been affected by the winter weather. The temperatures are frequently below zero. 
Humanitarian partners are targeting 10,000 households with shelter, cash assistance and other aid. Humanitarian partners will provide one-off ready-to-eat food rations and emergency food baskets to over 90,000 people.  
The significant funding gap in winter response is a major challenge. For the north-west, there is a $39 million gap in a planned winter response of about $84 million. 
 
AFGHANISTAN 
Today, in a Tweet, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said that the Taliban released two Ariana News reporters that they had detained. UNAMA noted that the whereabouts of women activists and others who went missing two weeks ago remain unknown.  
The UN Mission stressed that urgent action by the Taliban is needed to stop abductions and secure freedom for the disappeared. 

WORLD WETLANDS DAY 
Today is World Wetlands Day, and the theme this year is Wetlands Action for People and Nature. It highlights the importance of actions to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands for human and planetary health. 
The UN Environment Programme warns that wetlands are disappearing three times faster than forests and are Earth’s most threatened ecosystem. In just over 50 years — since 1970 — 35% of the world’s wetlands have been lost. 

SENIOR PERSONNEL APPOINTMENT  
The Secretary-General has appointed Major General Benjamin Olufemi Sawyerr of Nigeria as Force Commander for the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei, known as UNISFA.  
Major General Sawyerr succeeds Major General Kefyalew Amde Tessema of Ethiopia to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his dedication, invaluable service and effective leadership during his appointment with UNISFA.  
Major General Sawyerr has more than 34 years of service with the Nigerian Army, including as the Director of Defence Information of Nigeria’s Defence Forces since 2021.   

HONOUR ROLL 
France and Tuvalu have paid their dues in full for this year, taking the Honour Roll to 43 members.  

NOON BRIEFING GUEST
Brenda Barton, the World Food Programme Country Director for the Philippines  briefed reporters virtually on the humanitarian situation in the Philippines in the aftermath of Typhoon Odette. 

HYBRID PRESS BRIEFING TOMORROW 
Tomorrow at 11 a.m., there will be a hybrid press briefing by the European Union Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius. He will brief reporters in person on the UN’s Ocean and Biodiversity agendas from the EU perspective.