QUEEN ELIZABETH II
In a statement, the Secretary-General said:
“I am deeply saddened at the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. I extend my sincere condolences to her bereaved family, the Government and people of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the wider Commonwealth of Nations.
As the United Kingdom's longest-lived and longest-reigning Head of State, Queen Elizabeth II was widely admired for her grace, dignity, and dedication around the world. She was a reassuring presence throughout decades of sweeping change, including the decolonization of Africa and Asia and the evolution of the Commonwealth.
Queen Elizabeth II was a good friend of the United Nations, and visited our New York Headquarters twice, more than fifty years apart. She was deeply committed to many charitable and environmental causes and spoke movingly to delegates at the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow.
I would like to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II for her unwavering, lifelong dedication to serving her people. The world will long remember her devotion and leadership.”
PAKISTAN
The Secretary-General will be landing in Pakistan in just the coming hours, on a visit of solidarity following the floods in that country.
Tomorrow, he will meet with the Pakistani Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, and the Foreign Minister, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, as well as other senior government officials. He will have a press appearance with the Foreign Minister.
As the Secretary-General’s visit gets underway, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced today the mobilization of an emergency amount of $350,000 to help recover flood-damaged cultural heritage sites. The Organization is also working in the field of education, to quickly provide distance learning solutions.
UKRAINE
Turning to Ukraine, the Humanitarian Coordinator, Denise Brown, and the Emergency Coordinator for the World Food Programme in Ukraine, Matthew Hollingworth, today condemned an attack that took place yesterday and killed and injured civilians who were queuing up to receive aid in the small village of Mala Tokmachka, in the Zaporizka oblast.
Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that the centre that was hit had been used by local authorities to distribute assistance for civilians since the war started. When it was hit yesterday, food, hygiene kits and other supplies were being distributed.
We send our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and wish those injured a speedy recovery. It goes without saying that civilian infrastructure, including facilities where assistance is being provided, should never be targeted.
On the response front, earlier this week, on Monday we, along with our humanitarian colleagues, delivered a new convoy with 65 metric tons of relief items for people living in settlements close to the front lines in Donetska oblast. The six-truck convoy brought food, water, medical and hygiene kits, and tarpaulins that will cover the immediate needs for over 5,000 people in about four towns.
Across Ukraine, nearly 13 million people have received critical humanitarian assistance since this phase of the war began earlier this year.
But only about 1 million people have received assistance in non-government-controlled areas, and that continues to be a great challenge for us.
We continue our negotiations to make sure to seek free and unimpeded access so we can support people on both sides of the front line.
ETHIOPIA
Turning to Ethiopia, with a link to the conflict in Ukraine, the World Food Programme’s (WFP) first humanitarian shipment of grain from Ukraine that was delivered under the Black Sea Grain Initiative has started to arrive in Ethiopia.
As you will recall, the MV Brave Commander arrived in Djibouti on August 30th, and this is one of the vessels that the Secretary-General was able to see in the Bosphorus.
WFP says the grain will support one month of assistance for over 1.5 million people who have been displaced by drought and conflict.
The grain is currently being unloaded in WFP’s main warehouse in the city of Adama and will be distributed in the coming weeks.
Conflict, drought and rising costs are driving food insecurity across Ethiopia.
With 20 million people in need of food aid in Ethiopia, the World Food Programme says supply chain stability is critical to its work.
Also on Ethiopia, we’re being told by our humanitarian colleagues that fighting in the north of the country continues to impact vulnerable people and the delivery of aid.
In parts of Tigray, Amhara, and Afar regions, tens of thousands of people are reportedly being displaced by fighting and insecurity.
There have been no humanitarian convoy movements into Tigray since August 23rd. This is preventing the delivery of supplies, including additional fertilizer for the upcoming planting season.
The twice-weekly UN Humanitarian Air Service flights between Addis Ababa and Mekelle have also been halted since August 25th.
Within Tigray, we continue to distribute available fertilizers and other aid, as much as we can.
On a positive note, our partners were able to reach a site hosting internally displaced people in the Benishangul Gumuz region of western Ethiopia for the first time in more than one year. They provided water, sanitation and hygiene, shelter, emergency health supplies, dignity kits and other items.
In eastern and southern Ethiopia, the drought continues, with more than 16 million people targeted for humanitarian assistance.
In Ethiopia, more than 8 million people impacted by drought have received food aid this year.
YEMEN
Hans Grundberg, the Special Envoy for Yemen, briefed Security Council members in closed consultations by videoconference this morning. Also briefing was General Michael Beary, who briefed on the UN Mission in Hudaydah.
Mr. Grundberg met recently with President Rashad al-Alimi of the Presidential Leadership Council, in Riyadh, and that took place yesterday. They discussed ongoing efforts to implement the truce and the importance of negotiating its extension and expansion.
PEACEKEEPING
Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the head of the peacekeeping department, is in Peru, where he is attending - alongside the Military Adviser, General Birame Diop - the first Latin American and Caribbean Conference on UN Peacekeeping Operations. It was held in Lima on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Speaking at the closing of the conference yesterday, Mr. Lacroix welcomed the signing of a declaration to create a regional cooperation network in the area of peacekeeping operations. He asserted that this network could play an important role in ensuring that peacekeeping operations have the right capabilities at the right place at the right time.
Mr. Lacroix also called on Member States and peacekeeping partners to continue to support efforts aimed at enhancing the performance of peacekeeping personnel at all levels and to support the implementation strategy for the Action for Peacekeeping initiative for 2021-2023.
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT
In a video message marking today’s launch of the 2022 Human Development Report, the Secretary-General warned that, for the first time ever, the world’s total human development has declined for two years in a row.
From climate change to COVID-19 to recent global tensions, he said that our world faces widespread and interlinked challenges that are unsettling lives and disrupting the global economy. We are now facing a perfect storm that threatens to devastate the economies of many developing countries, he added.
He said that the Report puts forward a clear solution: we must double down on human development and advance policies around the so-called “three I’s”: investment, insurance, and innovation. In particular, Mr. Guterres said, we must invest in global public goods; expand insurance through social welfare safety nets; and innovate, fostering new pathways and technologies.
I encourage you to take a look at the report. It is quite interesting, as always.
ELSIE INITIATIVE FUND
The Elsie Initiative Fund for Uniformed Women in Peace Operations, hosted by UN Women, announced funding for Uruguay for their project to increase the participation of women in UN peace operations. With this grant, Uruguay aims to increase its deployment of women military peacekeepers from 6.6 per cent to 11 per cent by 2024. This was officially launched in Montevideo today by Uruguay's Ministry of National Defense, the Agency of International Cooperation, and UN Women.
SEXUAL EXPLOITATION AND ABUSE TRUST FUND
The Department of Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance is appealing to Member States to donate an additional $4 million by 2024 to the Trust Fund in Support of Victims of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.
Since 2016, when it was created, the Trust Fund has received $ 4.3 million in contributions from 24 Member States and from payments withheld from personnel against whom sexual exploitation and abuse allegations have been substantiated. These have helped fund assistance and support services to victims and children born of sexual exploitation and abuse by UN personnel.
Meanwhile, the Department has also released its annual report of the Trust Fund, covering activities conducted last year.
In 2021, six projects were completed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and one was implemented in Haiti, positively impacting the lives of over 400 victims of sexual misconduct and exposed community members.
CLIMATE
Our friends in Geneva at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) today released a report which says that African communities, economies and ecosystems are being hit hard by water stress and hazards like droughts and devastating floods.
The State of the Climate in Africa 2021 report focuses on water and says that high water stress is estimated to affect about 250 million people in Africa and is expected to displace up to 700 million people by 2030. In addition, four out of five African countries are unlikely to have sustainably managed water resources by 2030.
MIGRANTS
A new report by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) found that women and girls make up the majority of migrants in the East and Horn of Africa.
IOM says this trend is unique to the region, with migration in other parts of the continent being predominantly male.
The report says conflict and insecurity remain the biggest drivers of displacement in the region. There were 13.2 million forcibly displaced people in the region in 2021.
INTERNATIONAL LITERACY DAY
Lastly, today is International Literacy Day, and this year’s theme is Transforming Literacy Learning Spaces. The aim is to rethink the fundamental importance of literacy learning spaces to build resilience and ensure quality, equitable, and inclusive education for all.
According to UNESCO, despite progress made, literacy challenges persist with at least 771 million young people and adults lacking basic literacy skills.
***The guest at the Noon Briefing was Raffi Gregorian, the Deputy to the Under-Secretary-General and the Director of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism. He briefed journalists on the first United Nations Global Congress of Victims of Terrorism.
