PAKISTAN
The Secretary-General has just concluded his first day in his solidarity visit to Pakistan. In Islamabad, he was briefed on the latest developments by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and other senior government officials.
At a press encounter with the Prime Minister, following a visit to the National Flood Response and Coordination Centre, the Secretary-General expressed his solidarity with the Pakistani people and reiterated that the UN will do everything possible to mobilize the international community to support Pakistan.
The UN has delivered food or cash assistance and emergency supplies, he said, but this is just a drop in the ocean of needs.
No country deserves this fate, the Secretary-General later said during a joint press conference with the Foreign Minister - and particularly not countries like Pakistan that have done almost nothing to contribute to global warming. He called on developed countries to provide Pakistan and other countries on the frontlines with the financial and technical resources they need to survive extreme weather events like these deadly floods.
The Secretary-General also urged governments to address loss and damage from the climate crisis at COP 27 with the seriousness it deserves. This is not a future event, he added, it is happening now, all around us.
Tomorrow, the Secretary-General will see the impact of the floods in the provinces of Sindh and Balochistan. He is scheduled to conclude his visit with a press conference in Karachi and, just like today, we hope to have it streamed on the UN WebTV platform.
PAKISTAN - HUMANITARIAN
Meanwhile, the UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths, who is with the Secretary-General in Pakistan, has released $7 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to bolster emergency aid in Pakistan.
The allocation brings the support from the Central Emergency Fund for the flood response to $10 million, following a $3 million disbursement last month.
The funds will help prevent waterborne diseases and epidemics and provide nutrition supplements, clean water, and reproductive health care for the most vulnerable people, as well as the feed for livestock.
A press release on the allocation will be issued shortly.
UNITED KINGDOM
Speaking to reporters in Pakistan today, the Secretary-General spoke on the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. He extended his sincere condolences to the Queen’s family and to the people of the United Kingdom and the wider Commonwealth.
He added that Queen Elizabeth exemplified the values of calmness, dignity, and grace. He added that, for as long as he can remember, she had been a reassuring presence on the world stage.
And you of course, sawthe statement we issued yesterday. And also the UK Mission to the UN has set up a book of condolences just behind the visitors’, excuse me, at the Delegates’ entrance behind the escalators. You saw that the flags were flying at half staff today.
SUDAN
Turning to Sudan, the Special Adviser on Genocide Prevention, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, and the Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect, George Okoth-Obbo, have welcomed the recent visit to Sudan by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan.
While in Sudan, Mr. Khan met with survivors and communities affected by violence in Darfur.
As you know, 20 years ago, millions of people in Darfur were displaced and thousands were killed in violence perpetrated by the Government of Sudan and the Janjaweed militia.
The Special Advisors stressed that victims and survivors of these heinous crimes deserve justice and it is our collective responsibility to prevent such crimes from reoccurring.
SOUTH SUDAN
From South Sudan, the Humanitarian Coordinator, Sara Beysolow Nyanti, said she is deeply concerned about the recent violence in Adidiang, in Upper Nile State, where thousands of displaced people had sought refuge.
This latest fighting has led to the deaths of civilians, injuries and further displacement.
Up to 5,000 civilians had fled to this site last month, following the fighting between rival armed groups.
Several civilians fleeing the violence on boats and canoes reportedly drowned.
The UN peacekeeping mission says this latest attack has also triggered intercommunal fighting among some internally displaced people of different groups within the UN’s protection of civilians site.
UN peacekeepers have been deployed to rescue drowning civilians and protect the affected population.
The Humanitarian Coordinator said that the UN and our partners will continue supporting people in need to the best of their ability, but we need an immediate end to the fighting and a resolution to the conflict.
SENIOR PERSONNEL APPOINTMENT – UNDP
A senior personnel appointment, today, the Secretary-General is appointing of Ivana Živković of Croatia as Assistant Secretary-General, Assistant Administrator and Director, Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States of the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP.
Ms. Živković succeeds Mirjana Spoljaric Egger of Switzerland who has been elected as the new President of the International Committee of the Red Cross and we congratulate her on that. And of course the Secretary-General is grateful for Ms. Egger’s commitment and dedicated service to the United Nations. Ms. Živković is a senior Croatian diplomat, currently serving as the Director-General for Economic Affairs and Development Cooperation in the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs in Zagreb. We congratulate her on her post.
SENIOR PERSONNEL APPOINTMENT - UN HUMAN RIGHTS
And you will have seen thatyesterday afternoon we confirmed what you all knew, which is that the Secretary-General has appointed Volker Türk of Austria as the next United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
This follows approval by the General Assembly.
He succeeds Michelle Bachelet of Chile, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for her commitment and dedicated service to the United Nations.
Mr. Türk is currently the Under-Secretary-General for Policy in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General where he coordinates global policy work.
Over the course of his distinguished career, he has published widely on international refugee law and international human rights law. Lots more online.
We congratulate our friend Volker for this wonderful appointment.
INTERNATIONAL DAY TO PROTECT EDUCATION FROM ATTACK
Today is the International Day to Protect Education from Attack. In a message, the Secretary-General stresses that education is a fundamental human right and an essential driver for achieving peace and sustainable development. Unfortunately, he says, this right continues to fall under attack, especially in conflict-affected areas.
The Secretary-General notes that in 2020 and 2021, the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack reported over 5,000 attacks and cases of military use of schools and universities. More than 9,000 students and educators were killed, abducted, arbitrarily arrested, or injured. The majority of victims were women and girls.
The Secretary-General emphasizes that these attacks must stop immediately, and [classrooms] must remain places of peace and learning.
SUMMIT OF THE FUTURE
We welcome the decision of the General Assembly yesterday to hold a Summit of the Future. The summit, which will take place in 2024, was proposed by the Secretary-General in his Common Agenda report. The summit will be a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reinvigorate global action in order to better handle the kinds of global shocks and problems that are more and more in evidence and that no country can handle alone. The summit will also be an opportunity to recommit to the fundamental principles of the UN Charter and to turbo-charge the Sustainable Development Goals and other existing commitments. It will also aim to agree on concrete solutions to challenges that have grown or emerged more recently.
The summit will agree on an outcome – a pact for the Future – that makes the multilateral system fit for the challenges of today and tomorrow. The Secretary-General hopes that this summit will allow the UN to live up to its promise in the Charter to save succeeding generations, not only from the scourge of war but from the many threats that now exist to their very survival.
YOUTH
The UN General Assembly yesterday decided to establish a new UN Office on Youth Affairs. A key proposal from the Secretary-General as part of Our Common Agenda, the new office will give the U.N. a dedicated office to support the 1.2billion young people in the world today. It is part of the broader effort to make the U.N. more fit for the future and better connected with people across the world.
The office will ensure that the UN is fully attuned to the views of young people, facilitates their engagement in our work and better supports governments on the ground to more effectively respond to their priorities - education, jobs, peace, human rights and more.
The office will work closely with UN agencies, funds and programmes. The General Assembly's fifth committee will decide on the office's funding later this year.
