HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
FRIDAY, 5 FEBRUARY 2021

LIBYA
In a short while, our colleagues will hold a press conference with Stephanie Williams, the acting Special Representative, on the voting taking place today.

CLIMATE/MICHAEL BLOOMBERG
You will have seen this morning that we announced that Michael Bloomberg had been reappointed as the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions.
Mr. Bloomberg will support the work of the Secretary-General in growing and strengthening the coalition of governments, companies, cities and financial institutions committing to net-zero before 2050 in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement.
He will also leverage his experience and track record in accelerating the transition from coal to help deliver on the Secretary-General’s global call for the phase-out of coal in industrialized countries by 2030 and other countries by 2040.
 
SECRETARY-GENERAL/CLIMATE CHANGE
I want to flag that, on Monday, Mr. Guterres, the Secretary-General, along with COP26 UK President Alok Sharma will brief the Member States on the road to Glasgow.
He will stress the need to further expand the growing coalition for carbon neutrality, countries that have set a target for reaching net zero emissions by 2050 backed by ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions. He will also stress the importance of virtual negotiations in the months ahead to overcome the constraints imposed by the pandemic and the challenges to travel.

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL/GLOBAL INTER-GENERATIONAL DIALOGUE
The Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, joined Graꞔa Machel at the virtual Global Inter-Generational Dialogue (IGD), organized by Global Peace. 
Speaking to an international panel of young leaders, she highlighted the importance of their action to address issues such as the climate crisis and peace.
This event will also include the launch of the Global Peace Futures Forum, a platform that will catalyse youth to build innovative solutions to global challenges. 

ETHIOPIA
On Ethiopia, our humanitarian colleagues on the ground tell us the situation across Tigray continues to be extremely alarming and to deteriorate rapidly.
As we have told you many times, humanitarian access is restricted due to insecurity and bureaucratic obstacles, preventing aid workers to help people affected by the conflict.
The humanitarian response remains drastically inadequate compared to what is needed. Although we managed to increase our operations, they are still limited to helping people living in the towns along the main roads from the capital, Mekelle, towards Shire, and two refugee camps.
The UN and NGOs have nearly 80 humanitarian workers in Addis Ababa who ready to travel to Tigray pending clearance, and the clearance has now been pending for more than one month.
In spite of the challenges we, along our humanitarian partners, have managed to provide some urgent assistance.
More than 20 trucks have been positioned to move food supplies into Tigray. Two refugee camps in the southern part of Tigray, Mai-Ayni and Adi-Harush, are now receiving regular food allocations, with food delivery and distributions for the month of January having been completed.
Across the region, 250,000 people have been reached with two months’ worth of food.
Medical supplies have also been procured and dispatched to help hundreds of thousands of people.
Our partners are preparing to prevent and assist survivors of gender-based violence across the Amhara and Tigray regions.
Some 120,000 people – that’s fewer than one third of the nearly 500,000 people we are trying to reach – have regular access to water.
We continue to engage and call on the Government for immediate, safe, and unimpeded access of humanitarian personnel and supplies throughout Tigray.
  
BURKINA FASO/SENEGAL
Next week, Ramesh Rajasingham, the Acting Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, will begin a four-day visit to Burkina Faso and Senegal. 
As you know, there is a large-scale humanitarian emergency unfolding in Burkina Faso. Over the past two years, rising insecurity and conflict have forced more than a million people to flee their homes. It is now the world's fastest-growing displacement crisis.
While in Senegal, the Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator is expected to meet key humanitarian partners, as well as regional donors based in Dakar.
 
NIGER
And staying in the region, the UN’s Humanitarian Response Plan for Niger was launched yesterday. The plan is seeking $523.2 million this year to assist 2.1 million people. By comparison, last year, the UN and our humanitarian partners reached 800,000 people in need across the country.
Niger continues to face a complex humanitarian crisis, combining the effects of conflict, chronic food insecurity and health emergencies, including COVID-19. As a result, the country's economy, as well as access to basic services such as health and education, have been severely impacted.
  
COVID-19/AFRICA
A bit more on Africa: the World Health Organization said that the global initiative COVAX aims to start shipping nearly 90 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to the continent in February. This will be Africa’s largest ever mass vaccination campaign.
According to WHO, amid surging demand for COVID-19 vaccines, the final shipments will be based on production capacities of vaccine manufacturers and readiness of countries. WHO noted that the initial phase of 90 million doses will support countries to immunize 3 per cent of the African population most in need of protection, including health workers and other vulnerable groups, in the first half of this year.

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ZERO TOLERANCE FOR FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION
I want to flag that tomorrow is the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. In a message for the Day, the Secretary-General stresses that Female Genital Mutilation is a terrible human rights violation that affects the health and wellbeing of millions of women and girls around the world.
The Secretary-General says that, sadly, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the numbers of girls at risk of this horrific practice and notes that, without urgent action, two million more girls could be at risk of Female Genital Mutilation between now and 2030, in addition to the 4 million girls already at risk each year.

INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT CONVICTION
You saw yesterday that we issued a statement in which the Secretary-General took note of the verdict by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Dominic Ongwen, a commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).
He said this judgment is a significant milestone in accountability and a step forward in efforts to bring justice to the victims of the LRA.
Our thoughts today are with those victims.

SENIOR PERSONNEL APPOINTMENT
Today, the Secretary-General is appointing Robin Geiss of Germany as the Director of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), which is based in Geneva.
He succeeds Renata Dwan of Ireland, to whom the Secretary-General expresses his gratitude for her dedicated service.
Mr. Geiss comes to the position with 20 years of experience in peace and security, with a focus on the impact of new technologies in these areas. Most recently, he served as the Director of the Glasgow Centre for International Law and Security at the University of Glasgow. Mr. Geiss has managed large-scale research projects and held multiple posts in academia.

HONOUR ROLL
Today, I’m happy to thank our friends in Liechtenstein and Bhutan for their payment to the regular budget for 2021.