HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANIE TREMBLAY,

ASSOCIATE SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES

MONDAY, 7 NOVEMBER 2022

SECRETARY-GENERAL/TRAVELS

This morning in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, the Secretary-General spoke at the opening ceremony of the 27th UN Climate Change conference, otherwise known as COP27. 
He told leaders that today’s urgent crises cannot be an excuse for backsliding on climate commitments or greenwashing. It is unacceptable, outrageous and self-defeating to put climate change on the back burner, he said, adding that we are on a highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator.  
The Secretary-General warned that we are getting dangerously close to the point of no return and that to avoid that dire fate, all G20 countries must accelerate their transition in this decade. 
He also called for a Climate Solidarity Pact between developed and emerging economies.                   
A pact in which ALL countries make an extra effort to reduce emissions this decade in line with the 1.5-degree goal and in which wealthier countries provide financial and technical assistance to help emerging economies speed their own renewable energy transition, he said.  
It is either a Climate Solidarity Pact – or a Collective Suicide Pact, the Secretary-General added.  
The Secretary-General also told countries that loss and damage can no longer be swept under the rug and called it a moral imperative. It is time for nations to come together, he said. Without solidarity, without an all-of-society approach, without international cooperation, we will lose this fight of our lives.  
And just a few moments ago he took part in the Launch of the Action Plan on Early Warning Systems.
Earlier today he also had a joint press encounter with Shehbaz Sharif, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, in which he reiterated that Pakistan deserves massive support directly from the international community and that the country deserves its loss and damage to be considered as a reality and recognized through financial mechanisms. We have shared most of these remarks with you.  I think the remarks with the Prime Minister of Pakistan are still being finalized. They will be with you soon.
Tomorrow, he will take part in the Accelerating Adaptation in Africa event and the launch of the report of the High-Level Expert Group on Net Zero commitments by non-state actors. He will also meet with various regional groupings and leaders on the sidelines of the COP.  
 

Moving on to our Department of Peace Operations, the Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, as you know, is with Courtney Rattray, the Chef de Cabinet of the Secretary-General. They have begun their visit to South Sudan by meeting with leaders of the UN peacekeeping mission, with humanitarian colleagues, as well as the diplomatic community.
Speaking on arrival in Juba, Mr. Lacroix said there had been positive steps forward in the peace process, but that further progress is needed to fully implement the deal signed by the parties to the conflict in 2018 to ensure stability and development can take place in the country. In this regard, Mr. Lacroix highlighted the important support being given by the peacekeeping mission to enable free, fair and credible elections to take place at the end of the country’s extended transitional period. Another focus of the visit is to stress the need for continued international funding for the humanitarian effort, given that hunger and malnutrition are on the rise in areas affected by floods, drought, and conflict.
The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification report that we mentioned on Friday – just as a reminder – the report found that around two-thirds of the population, more than 7.7 million people, will not have enough to eat during the lean season in the coming months.
The delegation from New York will also meet with political leaders, women’s groups and members of the displaced community during the four-day visit there.
 

Moving on to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, we have an update from our peacekeeping colleagues. They are telling us that MONUSCO – the peacekeeping mission - has evacuated 150 people by helicopter from its base in Kiwanja, which is in North Kivu, and they evacuated them to Goma, also in North Kivu. Those evacuated include civilians, members of the provincial authorities, as well as civil society representatives who were threatened by hostilities and involving the M23 armed group.
In Ituri province, the Mission conducted medical training and also donated medicine to the hospital in Bunia for displaced people as well as to victims of armed violence.
Meanwhile, the Mission continues its work to support national efforts to build peace across the east. In Ituri province, the Mission is also training journalists from three radio stations on how to deal with disinformation and misinformation; as well as working with the police on crowd control. 
 

Our peacekeeping colleagues in Mali report that over the weekend two of their armoured vehicles that were part of a Force convoy were hit by two separate improvised explosive devices – better known as IEDs. This happened in the Douentza region – on Route Nationale 16 in the Dangol Boré commune. 
Unfortunately, six peacekeepers were wounded. They were evacuated to Sévaré, where they are currently receiving medical treatment. 
The rest of the convoy arrived in Mopti yesterday evening with no further incident reported. 
In a Tweet over the weekend, the head of the peacekeeping mission, El-Ghassim Wane, noted that the incidents illustrate the ever-present threat of IEDs and would not also weaken the Mission’s resolve to continue protecting the population.
 

Finally, I have an update from Afghanistan. Our UN team there, led by Resident Coordinator Ramiz Alakbarov, called for urgent collective action to halt the devastating impact of climate change in the country. 
He warned that Afghanistan is one of the countries least prepared to face climate shocks and is ranked the sixth most affected in the world to climate-related threats. He called on all sides in the country to find common ground to address this issue and for support from the international community as – he stated, Afghans do not have time to wait.
In terms of UN assistance provided in this area.  Through the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is supporting community-based approaches to land and forest management, also promoting biodiversity conservation, and climate change mitigation.
For its part, the World Food Programme (WFP) has provided food insecure households with cash or food-based transfers. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) as well as the UN Development Programme (UNDP) have also provided assistance to help the country face the climate threat. 
That is it from me. And now, for your questions. Celhia first.