HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC​,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
THURSDAY, 11 NOVEMBER 2021

SECRETARY-GENERAL/CLIMATE CHANGE
This morning, the Secretary-General spoke at the Global Climate Action High-Level Event at the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in in Glasgow.
He said the announcements made in Scotland are encouraging – but they are far from enough.
He underscored that the emissions gap remains a devastating threat and the finance and adaptation gap represent a glaring injustice for the developing world.
He called for more ambitious future revised Nationally Determined Contributions and for implementation of the countries’ pledges. 
He also said that he was inspired by the mobilization of civil society, the moral voice of young people and the dynamism and example of indigenous communities. 
Governments need to pick up the pace and show the necessary ambition on mitigation, adaptation and finance in a balanced way. He said we cannot settle for the lowest common denominator.
He also met with more leaders on the sidelines of COP, including Frans Timmermans, the Vice-President of the European Commission; a group of mayors; and ministers from Russia and China.
 
SECRETARY-GENERAL/PARIS PEACE FORUM
The Secretary-General is also about to speak, via pre-recorded video message, to the Paris Peace Forum.
He will say at a time when fractures are greatly threatening the world, he will encourage leaders to engage in dialogue and conflict prevention. He will also call for greater solidarity as the only way to heal the great fractures of this world.

ETHIOPIA
On the situation in northern Ethiopia: Our humanitarian colleagues say that people in Amhara need shelter, food, and water, as well as medicines and protection, as fighting in Amhara has led to many people being newly displaced from Dessie, Kombolcha, Baati, Kamissie and other areas in Amhara.
Tens of thousands of internally displaced people have reportedly registered in the city of Debre Berhan, with many people taking shelter in two schools there.
Thousands of people are also reportedly displaced from Chifra and Ada’ar in Afar as well. The majority of these people are women and children, once again.
As you know, the delivery of urgent humanitarian aid has been hampered by lack of access due to insecurity. Electricity and telecommunications have also been cut in Dessie and Kombolcha in Amhara province since October 30th. In Amhara, some 915,000 people have received food assistance and nearly 160,000 people have received shelter and other items since August.
No UN-organized humanitarian supplies have arrived in Tigray through the Semera-Abala-Mekelle route since October 18th. In Semera, 364 trucks are on hold, pending authorization from the authorities to proceed.
The continuing fuel and cash shortage is significantly affecting our partners’ ability to transport supplies, including food. The lack of essential medical equipment, supplies, and vaccines across the whole of Tigray is also seriously impacting the availability of health care.
Humanitarian partners remain in Tigray and aim to deliver assistance with available resources.
Between October 28th and November 3rd, some 112,000 people received food in Tigray, which is well below the average of 870,000 people who should be assisted each week.
Throughout the country, humanitarian operations face a funding gap of $1.3 billion, including $350 million for the response in Tigray alone.

YEMEN
Turning to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, our Special Envoy, briefed the Security Council’s closed consultations this morning on his recent work, including his travels in Yemen. He participated by video teleconference.
Mr. Grundberg concluded yesterday a three-day visit to Taiz governorate, where he held meetings in Taiz city, Turbah and Mokha, where he discussed, with a wide range of stakeholders, the urgent necessity for an end to the conflict.
Mr. Grundberg underlined in his meetings the need for comprehensive solutions and inclusive political dialogue. He called for all stakeholders to engage in constructive discussions on political, military and economic issues that concern everyone in Yemen.
Earlier today, Mr. Grundberg condemned the assassination of Rasha Abdullah, a journalist who was killed in Aden – and I would add she was also pregnant – and the attempted killing of her husband, Mahmoud Al-Atmi, who is also a journalist. Mr. Grundberg said journalists everywhere must be able to work without fear of retaliation.
Also on Yemen, the Acting Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, Ramesh Rajasingham, briefed the Security Council in closed consultations on the humanitarian situation.
Regarding that, our colleagues are telling us that fighting continues along nearly 50 front lines, including in Ma’rib, where at least 35,000 people have been forced to flee since September.
The humanitarian community is scaling up assistance, but is quickly getting outpaced by the increasing scale of humanitarian needs.
We are also deeply concerned that the conditions could quickly get much worse; if fighting enters the city, agencies estimate it could displace another 450,000 people. The UN continues to call for an immediate end to the Ma’rib offensive and a nationwide ceasefire.
Meanwhile, Yemen still needs a massive aid operation. So far, aid agencies have received about 55 per cent of the funding they require this year. This has helped to keep famine at bay and achieve other important results, but money is quickly running out. Humanitarians also need to be able to do their work safely and without interference.

AFGHANISTAN
A quick note from Afghanistan, where our colleagues at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have today alerted about the risk of catastrophe if agriculture collapses in the country. FAO stressed that, without a massive uplift in humanitarian support, many farmers and herders will be forced to abandon their livelihoods and resort to rural migration.
The FAO warned that this will further aggravate the dire situation in urban areas, severely damage Afghanistan’s food production capacity and contribute to worsening the already staggering food insecurity. FAO urgently needs $90 million to deliver humanitarian assistance to farmers and herders in 2022, and I think you will recall what our colleague David Beasley, the Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), has also been saying about the increasing risk of famine in Afghanistan.

GUINEA
From Guinea, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for West Africa, Mahamat Annadif, and the Foreign Minister of Guinea, Morissanda Kouyaté, yesterday launched a new initiative to promote inclusiveness and social cohesion in the country.
The initiative seeks to help facilitate a peaceful and inclusive transition in Guinea by fostering reconciliation at the national and community levels. It also aims to strengthen infrastructures for peace and the promotion of human rights, as well as to increase the participation of women and all communities in reinforcing social cohesion.
Mr. Annadif called on all Guineans, especially the [youth] and students, to work to build a culture of peace and to resolutely turn away from voices that call for violence, confrontation, discrimination and hatred.

BELARUS-POLAND BORDER
Filippo Grandi, the High Commissioner for Refugees, said today in Belarus, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), together with the Belarus Red Cross, delivered assistance to people stranded at the border.
Mr. Grandi stressed that priorities now are to prevent loss of life and move people to safer locations in Belarus. He noted that UNHCR and IOM appreciate the access and are ready to assist in finding solutions.
 
COVAX UPDATE
A quick COVAX update for you from Peru and Nicaragua:
Yesterday, Peru received 1.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines through COVAX. Since March, COVAX has delivered over 4 million doses to Peru. The Resident Coordinator, Igor Garafulic, said that this has been crucial in supporting the national vaccination plan, showing that an equitable global response is possible.
The Pan-American Health Organization is working with vaccine producers and donors, in the Americas and beyond, to accelerate vaccine development and production in the region.
This week, Nicaragua received more than 320,000 doses from COVAX which were donated by Canada; we thank Canada.
This brings the total number of doses that have arrived in Nicaragua from COVAX to more than 2.8 million.
Across Latin America and the Caribbean, COVAX has enabled the delivery of more than 66 million doses to 33 countries, and more doses are on their way.

FAO/FOOD OUTLOOK
FAO, again, today released a report showing that global food trade has accelerated and is poised to hit an all-time record in both volume and value.
FAO expects the global food import bill to reach an all-time high in 2021, surpassing $1.75 trillion, marking a 14 per cent increase from the previous year and 12 per cent higher than earlier forecast in June 2021.
The increase is driven by higher price levels of internationally traded food commodities and a threefold increase in freight costs.

UN REFUGEE AGENCY MID-YEAR TRENDS REPORT
UNHCR today released its Mid-Year Trends report showing that the rising trend in forced displacement continued into 2021. According to UNHCR, global numbers now exceed 84 million, as more people fled violence, insecurity and the effects of climate change.
The report, for January to June, shows an increase from 82.4 million at the end of last year. This resulted largely from internal displacement, with far more people fleeing multiple active conflicts around the world, especially in Africa.
Also, the agency notes that COVID-19 border restrictions continued to limit access to asylum in many locations.

NOON BRIEFING GUESTS TOMORROW
Tomorrow, we will be joined in this room by the Police Adviser and Director of the UN Police unit, our friend Luís Carrilho. He will be joined virtually by Police Commissioners from the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), Mody Berethe, and the UN Interim Security Force in Abyei (UNISFA), Violet Lusala.  They will brief you on this week’s UN Police Week events.

FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION
Lastly, we are thankful for this Member State which becomes the 136th Member State to pay its dues. This Member State has five UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Oman!