HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
FRIDAY, 4 MARCH 2022
UKRAINE/HUMANITARIAN
In Ukraine, U.N. humanitarian colleagues are welcoming the news that the Russian Federation and Ukraine have agreed to facilitate safe passage for civilians out of conflict areas, where millions of people urgently need safe passage and life-saving humanitarian assistance and protection. We look to both sides to ensure the passage is organized in a manner that allows for safety, dignity, and protection of civilians.
Humanitarian organizations stand ready to work with the parties to protect and care for civilians, whether they choose to stay or leave the concerned areas. We stress that humanitarian organizations should have safe, unhindered, and sustained access to all those areas.
And in recent days, humanitarians are also reporting that many cities in Ukraine have experienced relentless shelling that has caused significant damage to crucial infrastructure and further restricted access to vital services. Critical supplies including food, medicine, and basic hygiene items, are becoming increasingly scarce in the hardest-hit areas, not to mention that cash reserves are dwindling. There are empty ATMs and money transfer services have been greatly curtailed. All of that has impacted people’s ability to purchase goods, even when markets are functioning and accessible.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights reports that from the 24th of February to March 3rd, 1,006 civilian have been recorded as casualties in Ukraine. That includes 331 deaths. The human cost is likely to get much higher.
For its part, UNHCR says that more than 1.2 million people have now crossed international borders. Regarding refugee numbers, UNHCR has updated statistics that they keep up to date on their operational data portal (https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/ukraine/).
IOM has a similar portal.
U.N. humanitarian partners in Ukraine are continuing to provide assistance in areas where security permits, including in the east, where local NGOs have provided food, household items and shelter materials. UN agencies and humanitarian partners are setting up temporary shelters for people displaced from Donetska, Luhanksa and Kharkiv oblasts and providing critical medical equipment and supplies, including wound kits, to help local health services treat people with conflict-related injuries.
The World Health Organization said that the first WHO cargo shipment with emergency supplies arrived in Warsaw, and is now moving towards the border, and would cross soon into Ukraine. WHO is assessing the needs at both Polish and Ukrainian sides. For its part, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization said that it is planning to scale up assistance in all impacted areas through interagency work.
UKRAINE/WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME
David Beasley, the Executive Director of the World Food Programme, is currently on the Polish side of the Polish-Ukrainian border. He warned that bullets and bombs in Ukraine could take the global hunger crisis to levels beyond anything we’ve seen before. He said that in a year when the world is already facing unprecedented levels of hunger, it’s tragic to see hunger raising its head in what has long been the breadbasket of Europe.
WFP noted that the Russian Federation and Ukraine are responsible for 29 per cent of the global wheat trade and that any serious disruption of production and exports from the region could push food prices beyond their current 10-year highs. Mr. Beasley warned that this is not just a crisis inside Ukraine, this is going to impact supply chains, and particularly the cost of food. Potentially, prices rises could raise WFP’s operational costs by anywhere from 60 to 75 million dollars more per month, and that means more people are going to go to bed hungry.
FOOD PRICE INDEX
In February, so before the bulk of the fighting had started, FAO says that the world food prices went up in February, to an all-time high, led by vegetable oils and dairy products. The FAO [Food] Price Index was up 3.9 per cent from January, 24.1 per cent above its level a year earlier.
FAO noted that the Food Price Index measures average prices over the month, so the February reading only partly incorporates market effects stemming from the conflict in Ukraine.
UKRAINE/SECURITY COUNCIL
The Security Council held an open meeting on Ukraine.
Briefing Council members, was the Undersecretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo. She said that the Secretary-General is gravely concerned by the escalating fighting throughout Ukraine.
Ms. DiCarlo said that the Secretary-General has been following with great alarm the reports of heavy fighting around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. The Secretary-General wants to make it very clear that nuclear plants should never ever be targeted in military operations. She stressed that military operations around nuclear sites and other critical civilian infrastructure are not only unacceptable but highly irresponsible, and are also contrary to international humanitarian law.
Ms. DiCarlo emphasized that every effort should be taken to avoid a catastrophic nuclear incident and added that the Secretary-General welcomes the statements and actions by the International Atomic Energy Agency on this issue and is ready to assist however we can.
She underscored that urgent and safe passage should be granted to IAEA personnel should they need to travel to Ukraine to work with regulators.
The Director General of the IAEA, Rafael Mariano Grossi, also briefed the Security Council.
PAKISTAN
The Secretary-General strongly condemns the horrific attack, reportedly killing at least 30 people and injuring over 50 others in a blast at a Shiite mosque in Peshawar today. In a tweet, he said that houses of worship should be havens, not targets.
He extends his condolences to the families of the victims and to the Government of Pakistan, and wishes a speedy and full recovery to those who were injured. Those responsible for the attack must be held accountable.
We also have a statement from the UN Resident coordinator in Pakistan.
DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL
On Sunday afternoon, the Deputy Secretary-General will travel to San José, in Costa Rica, to attend the Forum of countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development. She will also meet with the UN Regional Directors and Resident Coordinators in the region, and other stakeholders, to discuss strategies and programmes that can help countries accelerate progress towards the SDGs.
She will participate in women’s day celebrations on 8 March with national authorities and young women in a public school of San Jose.
She will be back in New York on Tuesday.
ETHIOPIA
UNHCR is appealing for $205 million to deliver life-saving assistance and protection to over 1.6 million men, women and children displaced due to the conflict in the northern part of Ethiopia.
Of the $205 million, $117 [million] will support the needs of Ethiopian internally displaced people and Eritrean refugees in the Afar, Amhara, and Tigray regions of Ethiopia, while $72 million will help us support Ethiopian refugees in Sudan. $16 million will be used for preparedness as part of contingency measures for any potential influx into neighbouring countries, notably Djibouti, Kenya, Somalia and South Sudan.
LIBYA
Last night, the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Libya, Stephanie Williams sent letters to the leadership of both the House of Representatives and the High Council of State, inviting them to nominate six delegates from each chamber to form a joint committee dedicated to developing a consensual constitutional basis.
She said the joint committee should convene on 15 March, under the auspices of the UN, to work for a two-week period to achieve this goal. She awaits the chambers' speedy responses to this invitation.
Ms. Williams once more highlighted the fundamental importance of preserving security and stability, and refraining from all acts of escalation, intimidation, kidnapping, provocation and violence. The solution to Libya's crisis does not lie in forming rival administrations and perennial transitions, she said.
BURKINA FASO
In Burkina Faso, along with humanitarian partners, the UN launched the 2022 Humanitarian appeal Response Plan. It seeks $591 million to provide humanitarian assistance to 3 million vulnerable people.
During the last lean season, between June and August last year, close to 3 million people were severely food insecure. Their plight was aggravated by conflict, chronic vulnerability to climate change, and the impact of the pandemic. The outlook for this year indicates the situation is likely to get worse.
Despite insecurity and access constraints, aid workers and organizations have stayed and are deliverin
Last year, the UN and its partners reached 2.5 million people, with 43 per cent – less than half of the $607 million required.
MALAWI
And in Malawi, the UN launched a 3-month Flash Appeal to provide vital assistance to 542,000 people affected by Tropical Storm Ana, which hit the country late in January.
The appeal seeks US$29.4 million and focuses on the country’s six hardest-hit districts (Chikwawa, Nsanje, Phalombe, Mulanje, Chiradzulu and Balaka), where an estimated 680,000 people are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection.
The Flash Appeal, together with 44 partners, includes 10 UN agencies and complements the Government of Malawi’s own relief efforts.
MEXICO/COVID-19
In Mexico, over 18 million doses of vaccines landed this week through COVAX, with procurement and logistical support from the Pan-American Health Organization. This complements Mexico’s bilateral agreements to purchase more vaccines. With the arrival of this latest batch, the country has received 24.6 million doses; that’s nearly half of the doses contracted through COVAX to support the vaccination of the 20 per cent target population – that’s 26 million people almost.
And Costa Rica received 200,000 vaccine doses, thanks to a donation from France through COVAX and we say thank you.
USSR/RUSSIA
The Spokesman provided an update on a question asked a few days ago regarding the membership of the Russian Federation in the United Nations.
He said his answer at the time was that the Office of Legal Affairs had “undertaken a review of its relevant files”.
The Spokesman said he was informed this morning that the search is continuing through the paper-based files, and non-digitized files, and that some related documents have been found, including an interoffice memo dated 19 December 1991.
The memo has been declassified, and can be shared with those who are interested.
The interoffice memo does not in any way alter the Secretariat position, which is that, in accordance with the UN Charter, the question of UN membership is the responsibility of Member States.
A copy of that document has been provided to the Permanent Mission of Ukraine, as they had so asked.
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS
Italy and the Czech Republic have paid their dues in full, bringing us up to 67 Member States who are fully paid up.
