HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ,
DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
FRIDAY, 5 NOVEMBER 2021
COP26
Today is Youth Day at COP26 in Glasgow. The Secretary-General’s Youth Advisory Group hosted an event bringing together young climate activists, with a focus on working for the inclusion of young people in formal decision-making processes. The event also heard from indigenous youth leaders on the importance of traditional knowledge as a vital component of climate action. The Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Climate Action, Selwin Hart, addressed the meeting, and urged young people to continue raising their voices, and maintaining hope that the climate crisis can be overcome. He thanked the Youth Advisory Group for their service, and for their valuable insights and advice to the Secretary-General.
Youth protests outside the COP26 venue were heard inside the COP as the Conference marked Youth and Empowerment Day. Youth leaders presented Global Youth Position statement, representing the views of over 40,000 young climate leaders from across the world to COP leaders. The Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Patricia Espinosa, said she would take the demands, which she said were reasonable and justified, to the parties.
Negotiations proceeded on texts to finalize the Paris Agreement rulebook. COP President Alok Sharma asked negotiators to clear as many items as possible by next week, in advance of the high-level ministerial segment. This includes negotiations on Article Six, which covers trade, and which the COP President noted has eluded agreement now for six years.
SUDAN
From Sudan, the UN Mission there has strongly condemned the detention - after a meeting with the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Volker Perthes - of members of the Central Council of the Forces of Freedom and Change.
It was reported that three members of the Council were arrested near the UN Mission’s Headquarters in Khartoum yesterday afternoon. The Mission said that these arrests undermine the UN’s good office's role.
The UN Mission calls on the military leadership to stop arresting politicians and activists and to stop committing further human rights violations.
The Mission again urges the immediate release of people detained on or after the 25th of October, noting that these arrests nullify the impact of the release of four of the detained ministers yesterday.
SECURITY COUNCIL
This morning, the Security Council and the General Assembly voted to elect a new member of the International Court of Justice. Hilary Charlesworth of Australia obtained an absolute majority of votes in both the Council and the Assembly.
Then, in the afternoon, at 3:00 p.m., the Council will hold an open debate, followed by consultations, on Ethiopia.
Martha Pobee, the Assistant Secretary-General for Africa in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations, will brief Council members.
ETHIOPIA
The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, started his mission to Ethiopia today. He met with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Demeke Mekonnen.
Mr. Griffiths had constructive discussions on the humanitarian situation in the country and the challenges that aid organizations face in getting assistance to all Ethiopians in need.
Tomorrow, he is scheduled to meet with representatives of non-governmental organizations, UN agencies and the diplomatic community to discuss efforts to provide relief assistance to the millions of people in need.
Conflict, drought, flooding, disease outbreaks and desert locust infestation continue to drive humanitarian needs across Ethiopia. Some 20 million people are targeted for humanitarian assistance, including 7 million who are directly affected by the conflict in northern Ethiopia.
The funding gap for the humanitarian response in Ethiopia for 2021 stands at more than $1.3 billion. An estimated $606 million has been mobilized for response towards the Northern Ethiopia Response Plan, and $474 million for response towards the draft Humanitarian Response Plan, which covers areas outside Tigray. However, this is far from sufficient to cover the mounting humanitarian needs.
Also from Ethiopia, the World Food Programme, the UN Refugee Agency, and Ethiopia’s national agency for Refugee and Returnee Affairs today jointly appealed for $68 million to avoid cuts in food rations for more than 700,000 refugees.
The agencies warned of increased malnutrition and anaemia and stunted child growth, among other risks.
AFGHANISTAN
Nearly 23 million people – or 55 per cent of the Afghan population – are estimated to be in crisis or experiencing emergency levels of food insecurity between November 2021 and March 2022.
Our colleagues tell us that reports of isolated clashes and violence affecting civilians and resulting in casualties continued countrywide this week. In Jalalabad, in Nangarhar Province, gunfire directed at de facto authorities resulted in the deaths of two children on the 1st of November; and a roadside radio-controlled improvised explosive device detonation reportedly targeting the de facto authorities killed two civilians on the 3rd of November. Yesterday, armed clashed were reported in Bamyan Province, resulting in the injury of five people, including one civilian.
For its part, on the 3rd of November, the Food and Agriculture Organization began the autumn season wheat seed and fertilizer distribution campaign in the east of the country. Technical training sessions on agricultural best practices are planned, and FAO expects to reach nearly 140,000 people in the provinces of Nangarhar, Kunar, Laghman and Nuristan.
The Afghanistan Flash Appeal, which targets 11 million people with aid until the end of the year, seeks $606 million and is currently 54 per cent funded.
SENIOR PERSONNEL APPOINTMENT
The Secretary-General has appointed Colin Stewart of Canada to the position of Special Representative and Head of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus.
He will also perform the role of Deputy to the Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Cyprus.
Mr. Stewart succeeds Elizabeth Spehar of Canada to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for her strong leadership and dedication over the course of her tenure.
Mr. Stewart, who most recently served as Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Mission in Western Sahara (MINURSO) - from 2017 to 2021 - brings over 28 years of experience in peace and security and international affairs.
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
Yesterday, the Secretary-General strongly condemned Monday’s attack by the Presidential Guard of the Central African Republic, which resulted in the wounding of ten unarmed, newly deployed, Egyptian peacekeepers.
He called on the Central African authorities to spare no effort in investigating and promptly holding accountable the perpetrators of this unacceptable attack.
UN WOMAN POLICE OF THE YEAR
This year’s UN Woman Police Officer of the Year has been awarded to Superintendent Sangya Malla of Nepal. She is currently serving in our Peacekeeping Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).
Superintendent Malla is the Chief of the MONUSCO Police Health and Environment Unit, which she helped to establish. The unit is responsible for implementing policies and procedures concerning the health and well-being of personnel, as well as UN Police environmental initiatives.
Her work has been especially important as part of the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in past Ebola outbreaks, as well as natural and humanitarian crises such as the volcanic eruption in Goma last May.
Superintendent Malla will formally receive her award at a virtual ceremony on the 9th of November.
INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR PREVENTING THE EXPLOITATION OF THE ENVIRONMENT IN WAR AND ARMED CONFLICT
Tomorrow is International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict. The United Nations Environment Programme notes that the environment has often remained the unpublicized victim of war, with water wells being polluted, crops torched, forests cut down, soils poisoned, and animals killed to gain military advantage.
UNEP adds that over the last 60 years, at least 40 per cent of all internal conflicts have been linked to the exploitation of natural resources, and that conflicts involving natural resources have also been found to be twice as likely to relapse.
WORLD TSUNAMI AWARENESS DAY
Today is World Tsunami Awareness Day. In a message for the Day, the Secretary-General calls on countries, international bodies, and civil society to increase understanding about the threat and to share innovative approaches to reduce risks.
The Secretary-General notes that rising sea levels caused by the climate emergency will further exacerbate the destructive power of tsunamis. He stresses that we must limit warming to 1.5 degrees over pre-industrial averages and invest at scale in the resilience of coastal communities.
The Secretary-General emphasizes that science and international cooperation, as well as preparedness and early action, must be at the heart of our efforts to save lives from tsunamis and other hazards.
GUEST TODAY
Nicholas Koumjian, Head of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, presented an update on the work of the mechanism.
