HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
MONDAY, 6 MARCH 2023
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
The Secretary-General welcomes recent engagement by the President of Angola and African Union Champion for Peace and Reconciliation, João Lourenço, with the M23 rebel group, which resulted in the announcement of a ceasefire, beginning tomorrow, 7 March, in compliance with the decisions of the African Union Peace and Security Council that were taken on 17 February in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The Secretary-General urges the M23 to respect the ceasefire in order to create conditions for its full and effective withdrawal from all occupied areas in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, in line with the decisions of the Luanda Mini-Summit held on the 23rd of November of last year.
The Secretary-General condemns all violence against civilians and renews his call on all Congolese and foreign armed groups to lay down their weapons and disarm unconditionally. He urges all parties to the conflict to ensure immediate and unfettered humanitarian access to the affected population, and to ensure protection of civilians and respect for international humanitarian law. He calls on all actors to refrain from hate speech and incitement to violence.
The Secretary-General reaffirms the continued support of the United Nations to the Luanda and Nairobi processes.
And, on Saturday, the Head of the peacekeeping mission there, Bintou Keita, concluded her mission to eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo with a press conference in Goma.
She outlined that the Mission is maintaining a robust presence in M23-controlled areas to protect civilians and continues to provide support to the Congolese armed forces, in strict compliance with the Human Rights Due Diligence Policy.
Ms. Keita echoed the calls for a rigorous respect of the ceasefire that was announced on Friday and urged the M23 to withdraw from the occupied areas and disarm unconditionally.
COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN
This morning, the Secretary-General spoke to the opening of the Commission on the Status of Women. He said that this year’s event takes on an even greater significance as progress won over decades is vanishing before our eyes.
In Afghanistan, for example, he said that women and girls have been erased from public life. Gender equality is growing more distant, the Secretary-General added, on the current track, UN Women puts it 300 years away.
He called for urgent action to equalize power in three ways.
First, increasing education, income and employment for women and girls, particularly in the Global South. Second, he added, leaders must promote women’s and girls’ full participation and leadership in science and technology, from governments to board rooms and classrooms. Finally, he called for the creation of a safe digital environment for women and girls.
His full remarks were shared with you.
LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
The Secretary-General was in Doha over the weekend, where he spoke yesterday at the plenary of the fifth Conference of Least Developed Countries. He told delegates there that there is perhaps no more important issue around which we can and must unite than in transforming the words of the Doha Programme of Action into results. We don’t have a moment to lose, he said.
He added that Least Developed Countries are being stranded amidst a rising tide of crisis, uncertainty, climate chaos and deep global injustice, adding that a deeply dysfunctional and unfair global financial system is handing Least Developed Countries the rawest of deals, with the countries facing interest rates that are up to 8 times higher than developed countries.
LAW OF THE SEA
The Secretary-General commended delegates at the intergovernmental conference that finalised a text to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction.
This breakthrough – which covers nearly two-thirds of the ocean -- marks the culmination of nearly two decades of work and builds on the legacy of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
This action is a victory for multilateralism and for global efforts to counter the destructive trends facing ocean health, now and for generations to come.
SECURITY COUNCIL
This morning the Head of the UN Mission in South Sudan, Nicholas Haysom, briefed the Council.
He welcomed the transitional Government’s commitment to implement the Peace Agreement, as well as their clear statement that there would be no more extensions of the timelines contained in the agreed Roadmap.
He said 2023 would be a “make or break” year and a test for all parties to the peace agreement.
He will speak to you at the stakeout.
UKRAINE
Turning to Ukraine. Our humanitarian colleagues on the ground tell us that the security situation in the front-line town of Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region has deteriorated significantly in recent days. Intense shelling is compounding an already precarious humanitarian situation. Access to the town remains limited, with a significant decrease in the number of volunteer groups still operating there.
Local authorities have reported to us at least eight civilian casualties in the last 48 hours. This includes one woman who was killed and two men who were seriously injured trying to cross a makeshift bridge out of Bakhmut.
Local volunteers continue to assist as many as 4,500 civilians living in the town, out of a pre-war population of about 73,000 people.
Just to recap that in February, we sent six inter-agency convoys to the Donetsk region, carrying food, water, and winter and shelter materials for over 77,000 people.
Also, on March 2nd, there was a deadly attack on a residential building in the city of Zaporizhzhia. Our humanitarian colleagues on the ground say that 13 deaths, including an eight-month-old child, have been confirmed as of today. Two are still missing.
Denise Brown, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, met local authorities at the site yesterday. She stressed that civilian infrastructure are protected by international humanitarian law and should never be targeted.
Our humanitarian partners have provided emergency supplies, including food, clothing, bedding, hygiene kits, psychosocial support as well as cash assistance.
SYRIA/ TÜRKIYE
Turning to Syria, one month after the devastating earthquakes, we and our humanitarian partners continue to scale up our response. At least 8.8 million people have been affected, with a majority expected to need humanitarian assistance.
Since 9 February, 583 trucks loaded with aid from seven UN agencies have crossed into north-west Syria via the three available border crossings.
Our humanitarian partners estimate that homes for some 2.7 million people have been damaged in Aleppo, Hama, Lattakia and Homs. Those displaced are in collective centres and host communities.
More funding is urgently needed for the humanitarian response. Our flash appeal is 52 percent funded – which means we have $206 million out of $400 million required.
And also, in terms of Türkiye, we are continuing to provide with our partners, so far 5.7 million food packages and hot meals; 42,000 tents; 278,000 blankets; 181,000 mattresses; and 169,000 hygiene kits.
The $1 billion appeal for Türkiye is currently 9.6 per cent funded, which means $96.6 million [received].
VANUATU
In Vanuatu, which was hit by two consecutive Category 4 cyclones, and a 6.5 magnitude earthquake just last week and over the weekend. Authorities report that some 200,000 people were impacted. That’s about 63 per cent of the population.
Under the leadership of acting Resident Coordinator to Vanuatu, Heike Alefsen, and our regional Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the UN team is supporting Government-led response. While there is still a power outage and communications challenges across the capital city, UN personnel and humanitarian partners continue to work with authorities and civil society representatives.
Our team on the ground had prepositioned items in Vanuatu ahead of the cyclone season and these have now been distributed by our local partners.
UN agencies are working closely with the Vanuatu Red Cross Society to distribute emergency supplies; more are expected to be shipped to support the response efforts.
Our team is supporting authorities with additional lifesaving and needs assessments and has offered to immediately deploy staff to further assist on the ground.
PAKISTAN
Six months after devastating floods that hit Pakistan, our UN team and partners have reached more than seven million people with food and other essential services as part of the Government-led flood response. We are also supporting authorities to help communities recover, restore their livelihoods, and prepare for the next monsoon season in a few months. However, only 30 per cent of the Floods Response Plan has been funded, and rates of child malnutrition remain of particular concern.
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and partners have reached more than one million children and close to 850,000 mothers with lifesaving nutrition interventions that have helped avert a significant number of deaths. However, only one-third of the child nutrition response is funded, leaving 12 million children suffering from - being at risk of stunting.
For its part, the World Health Organization (WHO) has reached more than three million people with health services. And FAO has provided food security and agriculture assistance to seven million, although four million people are still at risk.
BRIEFINGS TOMORROW
Tomorrow, at 11:00 a.m., there will be a briefing sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Ireland, with the NGO Karama - on women, peace and security agenda in the Arab region.
Speakers will include Zahra' Langhi, Samia El Hashmi, Amani Aruri, Brigitte Chelebian, and Suzan Aref, all are of Karama.
At noon, the guest will be the Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Türkiye, Alvaro Rodriguez. He will join the briefing virtually from Hatay province.
