HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC​,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
TUESDAY, 7 JUNE 2022
 

GENERAL ASSEMBLY 
In his remarks following the election of the President of the 77th Session of the General Assembly, the Secretary-General congratulated the President-elect, Csaba Kőrösi of Hungary, and also expressed his deep gratitude to the current president, Abdulla Shahid.  
We face a world in peril, the Secretary-General said, and the months ahead will test the multilateral system. The 77th Session can be a moment of transformation, Mr. Guterres added. A time to recalibrate multilateralism and strengthen the foundations of global cooperation.   
He welcomed President-elect Kőrösi’s focus on “Solutions through Solidarity, Sustainability and Science” – and said that he – and the entire UN system, look forward to working with him.

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL/TAJIKISTAN 
The Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, was in Tajikistan today as part of her Central Asia trip. She opened the 2nd Dushanbe Water Action Decade Conference together with the President of Tajikistan H.E. Emomali Rahmon. After that she made opening remarks at the signature ceremony for the new Cooperation Framework between the Government of Tajikistan and the United Nations. The Cooperation Framework focuses on making progress against priorities of development, peace and security and human rights over the next four years.
In the afternoon the Deputy-Secretary General travelled to a village in Rudaki District outside of Dushanbe to visit a Mobile Health Fair supported by the joint UN-EU Spotlight Initiative. The Fair brings essential Gender-Based violence (GBV) services supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), such as health, pyscho-social and legal services to women and girls in isolated communities. To date, more than 3,500 women have been reached through these fairs in villages around the country.
She also visited a Teacher Innovation Center in Dushanbe supported by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), where she met teachers and children and recorded some educational podcasts for use in digital classrooms. The Deputy Secretary-General welcomed Tajikistan’s intention to share its experience in innovative educational tools in the forthcoming Transforming Education Summit to be convened by UN Secretary-General in September 2022.

YEMEN 
The Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, shared yesterday with the Government of Yemen and Ansar Allah a revised proposal on the phased re-opening of roads, including an implementation mechanism and guarantees for the safety of civilian travelers, based on the discussions with both sides.  
The updated proposal calls for the re-opening of roads, including a main route leading into and out of Taiz city. The proposal takes into consideration suggestions from both parties, as well as feedback from Yemeni civil society.  
Mr. Grundberg said that this is a first step in our collective efforts to lift restrictions on the freedom of movement of Yemeni women, men and children within the country. He hopes the proposed initiative will sustain the momentum needed to move towards discussions on more durable arrangements within the multitrack process.

UKRAINE  
In Ukraine, the war continues to have a direct and terrible toll on Ukrainians. The UN Human Rights Office says that, as of yesterday, 4,253 men, women and children have been killed, while more than 5,000 other people have been injured. More than half of these casualties were recorded in Donetsk and Luhanska oblast, where the heaviest fighting is currently taking place. 
The UN, along with its partners in Ukraine, continue to reach more people with humanitarian assistance. The UN has helped 7.8 million people across the country to date. 
And on another positive note, the Ukraine Flash Appeal is currently more than 72 per cent funded, with $1.62 billion of the $2.25 billion requested having been received. We thank our donors for contributing generously and we count on them for their continued support.

NIGERIA 
In a statement yesterday, the Secretary-General condemned in the strongest terms the heinous attack in the St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, on 5 June that resulted in the death and injuries of scores of civilians as people gathered for the Pentecost service.  
The Secretary-General emphasized that attacks on places of worship are abhorrent and urged the Nigerian authorities to spare no effort in bringing the perpetrators to justice.

UGANDA  
In Uganda, the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has just allocated $4 million to address rising food insecurity in the Karamoja region, in the country’s northeast. Poor food production there has caused hunger to increase in the last two years.
Today, over 500,000 men, women and children in Karamoja – more than 40 per cent of the region’s population – are believed to be experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity. That includes some 90,000 people facing emergency levels of food insecurity.   
Poor diets and disease have also led to a rise in acute malnutrition. More than 90,000 children and nearly 9,500 pregnant or lactating women are acutely malnourished and need treatment.   
This new CERF funding will allow the UN and its partners to support nearly 300,000 people impacted by drought with food and nutrition, water, health care, child protection, and other assistance.

IRAN 
In the Islamic Republic of Iran, the UN team, led by Resident Coordinator Stefan Priesner, continues to support the national response to the health, humanitarian, and socio-economic needs in the COVID-19 crisis.  The UN team says that the sixth wave of COVID-19 has been gradually fading over the spring months. On 2 June, the country had its first day since the beginning of the pandemic without any reported deaths.  
The UN team on the ground has been supporting the vaccination efforts, with 70 per cent of the population now fully vaccinated. With the UN team’s support, refugees and undocumented Afghans have been included in the response throughout the pandemic, with more than 80 percent of Afghans receiving at least their first doses.

WORLD FOOD SAFETY DAY 
Today is World Food Safety Day, and this year’s theme is “Food Safety, Everyone’s Business.” The Day aims to draw attention and inspire action to help prevent, detect and manage foodborne risks, contributing to food security, human health, economic prosperity, agriculture, market access, tourism and sustainable development.

TRAILBLAZER AWARD 
At 3:00 p.m. today in the Trusteeship Council, the United Nations will bestow the first United Nations Trailblazer Award for Women Justice and Corrections Officers to Téné Maïmouna Zoungrana of Burkina Faso. The Chef de Cabinet, Courtenay Rattray, will present the award to Ms. Zoungrana on behalf of the Secretary-General and you’re all invited to attend or watch the ceremony.   
Téné Maïmouna Zoungrana, who first deployed to the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) between 2014 and 2017 and later in 2020, supports one of the most difficult tasks of the mission - the demilitarization of the Central African Republic prison system.

GUEST TOMORROW 
Tomorrow, the Secretary-General will introduce in the UN Press Briefing Room in New York the second report of the Global Crisis Response Group. This effort was launched by the Secretary-General earlier this year to examine the impact of the war in Ukraine on the food, fuel and finance sectors. 
The Secretary-General will just make remarks but will not take questions. 
Rebecca Grynspan, the Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development, will then present the report and take questions.

FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION 
Bolivia has now paid its regular budget dues. This contribution takes us to 105 fully paid-up Member States.