HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
THURSDAY, 3 NOVEMBER 2022
TRIP ANNOUNCEMENT
The Secretary-General will be heading to the 27th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties, otherwise known as COP27, which, as you all know, is being held in Sharm el-Sheikh, in Egypt. And as he just told you a short while ago, at the conference he'll be urging countries to increase their political will to act on the issue of climate change and he will call for a pact in which developed countries deliver on the commitments made in Paris and make an additional effort to reduce emissions. in line with the 1.5-degrees goal. They must also provide financial and technical assistance – along with support from Multilateral Development Banks and technology companies – to help emerging economies speed up their renewable energy transition.
Throughout the conference, the Secretary-General will also meet with various leaders and climate activists, including young people.
Then, from there, on 10 November, the Secretary-General will head to Phnom Penh, in Cambodia, where he will address the ASEAN-UN summit, focusing on regional and global trends, the climate emergency, and the situation in Myanmar. From there, he will push further East and he will travel to Bali, in Indonesia to attend the annual Group of 20 [G20] Summit, where he will address sessions on food and energy security, and on health.
SECRETARY-GENERAL
This morning, the Secretary-General flagged the fact that the Black Sea Grain Initiative had hit a new milestone, and that is ten million metric tonnes of grain and other foodstuffs having been shipped through the Black Sea corridor. The initiative is working, he said, and it is our collective responsibility to keep it working smoothly.
On Ethiopia, he called the agreement reached yesterday a critical first step that paves the way for the unimpeded delivery of lifesaving humanitarian aid and the resumption of public services.
As he heads to Sharm el-Sheikh, the Secretary-General said that it is time for an historic pact between developed and emerging economies.
BLACK SEA GRAIN INITIATIVE
Also on the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the Joint Coordination Centre in Istanbul says that today seven vessels carrying 290,102 metric tonnes of grain and other food products are transiting the maritime humanitarian corridor under the agreement of the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
Today, the Russian Federation delegation resumed its work at the Joint Coordination Centre and joined vessel inspections.
The Joint Coordination Centre website on the Initiative is now updated with live information on all shipments and it is making available detailed data and totals of commodities and destinations.
For its part, the World Food Programme noted that since the signing of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, WFP has transported more than 220,000 metric tonnes of wheat grain from Ukrainian ports intended for the hungriest in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, and Yemen. A further 160,000 metric tonnes is planned for transportation to the most vulnerable.
SECURITY COUNCIL
This morning, the Secretary-General spoke at the Security Council open debate on Integrating effective resilience-building in peace operations for sustainable peace.
He reminded Council members that local and global contexts in which our peace missions operate are becoming more challenging by the day. In this context, our peace operations must be empowered and equipped to play a greater role in sustaining peace at all stages of conflict, and in all its dimensions.
The Secretary-General highlighted four priorities. First, he said, we must deepen engagement with local communities and promote more responsive and inclusive governments and institutions.
Second, bolster the leadership of women and youth. Third, we need a more holistic and integrated approach to building resilience and sustaining peace.
And finally, he called on the international community to invest in peace and scale up funding.
ENVIRONMENT
Today, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released its Adaptation Gap Report, which finds that global efforts in adaptation planning, financing and implementation are not keeping pace with the growing risks. UNEP estimates that adaptation costs are five-to-ten times greater than international adaptation finance flows to developing countries.
In his message, the Secretary-General said that adaptation must be treated with a seriousness that reflects the equal worth of all members of the human family.
ETHIOPIA/HUMANITARIAN
Our colleagues are in contact with the Government of Ethiopia and others to resume, as soon as possible, the movement of aid convoys and personnel to Mekelle and Shire. Convoys by road to Tigray through Afar had been suspended since 24 August. Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that critical supplies, including food, nutrition items and medicines, are running very low in Tigray.
Meanwhile we, along with our humanitarian partners, continue to distribute aid using the remaining stocks in the region, and we started to assist those who are currently in accessible areas. Last week, about 189,000 newly displaced people in the North-Western Zone were assisted with food, and around 6,000 displaced people from Afar received food assistance in the South-Eastern Zone. Food distribution also started in Mekelle City last week, targeting about 500,000 people.
In Amhara and Afar, our humanitarian partners continue to respond to the humanitarian needs, including in places of returns, as access has improved allowing humanitarian partners to reach areas that were so far inaccessible, including North of Kobo. Access assessments to additional areas are ongoing.
In Afar, our partners have reached more than 613,000 people, that is 94 per cent of the targeted population, with food assistance for the current food distribution round. In Amhara, more than 2.1 million people received food assistance last week. However, huge response gaps remain in other sectors mainly due to lack of resources, including water, [food], non-food items, health, and education support.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
The UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is telling us that the situation in North Kivu remains relatively calm today.
However, movements by the M23 were reported around Mabenga - 25km north-west of Rutshuru - and in the Virunga National Park.
The Mission continues to support the Government and the armed forces to keep civilians safe from harm and restore peace in the East of the country.
Finally, yesterday in Bukavu, in the South Kivu province, civil society groups organised a peaceful protest against M23 aggression that is ongoing in North Kivu. They also encouraged massive participation in nationwide demonstrations planned on 9 November.
MALI
In Mali, the peacekeeping mission there has worked to increase the capacity of hospital rooms at the Bamako central prison from 19 to 30 beds. This will help alleviate challenges related to prison overcrowding.
In addition to this, in the past two months, the Mission has provided first aid training to 36 prison guards, health and social workers, including 11 women, in five correctional facilities. These efforts are part of a broader project to improve detention conditions, and to facilitate access to healthcare for prisoners.
The UN Mission continues to support the national authority in charge of prison administration to test security plans, build capacity for the management of incidents in prisons, and to improve the performance of the prison intervention brigade, which has been playing a key role in the surveillance of detainees accused of terrorism since its operationalization in September 2021.
SOMALIA
Turning to Somalia. The Humanitarian Coordinator there, Adam Abdelmoula, just allocated $17 million from the Somalia Humanitarian Fund to provide immediate aid to communities in areas at the highest risk of famine. As we have told you several times, famine is knocking on the door in Somalia and millions of people are at risk of starvation unless humanitarian assistance is scaled up and sustained.
This new allocation will fund immediate life-saving activities at a time when humanitarian operations are struggling to keep up with the scale, scope and severity of the needs. The funds will focus on the worst-affected communities in Bay, in Bakool and Mudug.
This comes at a critical time as the number of people impacted by the drought has more than doubled since the beginning of the year.
This means that 7.8 million men, women and childre are now affected.
The Humanitarian Response Plan for Somalia requires $2.27 billion to respond to the needs of all those affected. Donors have already provided $1.07 billion, which is just under half of what we need. We need more.
NIGER
The Central Sahel region is currently facing severe flooding. In Niger, heavy rains are continuing to claim lives and wreak havoc on homes and infrastructure.
Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that more than 330,000 men, women and children are now impacted by floods in all eight regions of the country. Since the rain started in July, 195 people have died and more than 200 people have been injured. More than 36,000 houses have collapsed.
The southern regions of Zinder and Maradi have been hit particularly hard, with entire neighbourhoods submerged.
The agriculture sector throughout the country is also impacted.
We, along with our humanitarian colleagues, are providing support of the Government, delivering essential items.
The 2022 Humanitarian Response Plan for Niger is looking for $552 million; it is only 42 per cent funded.
NIGERIA
In Nigeria, the Humanitarian Coordinator there, Matthias Schmale, called on the international community to support the country as it faces unprecedented floods which have impacted more than 3 million people. More than 100,000 hectares of farms have been flooded, damaging staple food crops such as cassava, rice, and plantain. This will aggravate the already alarming food and nutrition crisis across Nigeria.
As floodwaters slowly recede, the priority is to help people to get back to what is left of their homes and regain lost assets and livelihoods. We are working together with the Government, doing the best we can to provide aid, but additional funding is needed.
SOUTH SUDAN
The World Food Programme today warned that hunger and malnutrition are on the rise in South Sudan, with some communities likely to face starvation if humanitarian assistance is not sustained and climate adaptation measures are not scaled-up.
The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), released today, shows that about two-thirds of the South Sudanese people – that is 7.76 million people - are likely to face acute food insecurity during the April-July 2023 lean season, while 1.4 million children will be malnourished.
ZAMBIA
Yesterday, Zambia celebrated getting 70 per cent full COVID-19 vaccination coverage – huge progress from less than 3 per cent just a year ago. This translates into over 8 million people of the targeted adult population being vaccinated. The UN team, led by Resident Coordinator Beatrice Mutali, has been contributing to this milestone. With the support of WHO [World Health Organization], authorities upgraded technology and provided vaccination cards, strengthened COVID-19 surveillance and other assistance. For its part, UNICEF supported the provision of over 20 million doses of various other vaccines and also strengthened the cold chain systems.
HAITI
The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, warned that armed violence has precipitated Haiti’s descent into the worst human rights and humanitarian situation in decades.
UN Human Rights colleagues in Haiti said that in just over a week in mid-October, more than 71 people were killed, twelve women were raped and hundreds of residents were forced to flee their homes, as a result of turf wars between rival gangs in Croix-des-Bouquets, which is in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area.
According to information received, at least 54 people were killed during protests since August, most of them allegedly because of disproportionate use of force by the police.
For its part, the UN Refugee Agency is calling on States in the region and beyond to suspend the forced return of Haitians to their country.
In view of the current situation, UNHCR is encouraging governments to ensure that Haitians have access to protection services and support regardless of their reasons for leaving Haiti.
Also to note, the UN ECOSOC Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti has also issued a statement today expressing its concern about the situation there.
MIDDLE EAST SEMINAR
The 2022 UN International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East started today and will continue tomorrow in Geneva.
The event is organized by the UN Department of Global Communications in the context of its General Assembly-mandated special information programme on the question of Palestine.
BAN KI-MOON
Former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will be at the Dag Hammarskjöld Library, at 3:15 p.m. on Friday for the unveiling of his collection of archives and papers.
**BRIEFINGS TOMORROW
The guest at the noon briefing will be Upali Galketi Aratchilage, Senior Economist for the Food and Agriculture Organization. He will brief reporters virtually on the October FAO Food Price Index.
At 1:00 p.m., there will be a hybrid briefing by Ambassador Federico Villegas, President of the Human Rights Council.
