UKRAINE - ZELENSKYY
This morning, the Secretary-General spoke by phone with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine. They talked about a wide variety of issues regarding the conflict in Ukraine, including the future of the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
UKRAINE
Turning to Ukraine, our friend, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, was in Kyiv today. There, he held meetings with the humanitarian community to discuss support to people impacted by the war and challenges that aid workers are facing to operate in areas not under Government control. In Kyiv, Mr. Griffiths is also meeting with Government officials and the diplomatic community.
While in Ukraine, Mr. Griffiths was in the vicinity of attacks that took place yesterday in Kherson and today in Kyiv. He noted that what he saw was just a fraction of what the Ukrainian people are experiencing, highlighting the heavy toll of the war on civilians. More than 18 million people in Ukraine need humanitarian aid.
For its part, the International Organization for Migration today said that it is increasing its winter support for the country as a new report shows that most people plan to stay in Ukraine. According to data collected by the IOM, only 7 per cent of respondents nationwide are actively considering leaving their location. Even in the event of prolonged cuts to all key utilities without a timeline for repair, two out of three say that they would not leave their homes.
The UN Children’s Fund for its part warned that continuing attacks on critical energy infrastructure in Ukraine have left almost every child in Ukraine – that’s nearly seven million of them – without sustained access to electricity, heating and water. UNICEF said that a bleak winter will also likely worsen the psychosocial situation for children, who are already facing a looming mental health crisis, with an estimated 1.5 million of them at risk of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental conditions.
And also today, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization released a survey showing that after nine months of war in Ukraine, rural households are increasingly being affected by the conflict with many forced to scale down or abandon their agricultural activities. FAO notes that the situation is much worse in the most agriculture-dependent regions of Ukraine, where over 40 per cent of rural families are affected.
VIET NAM
You will have seen that we issued a bit earlier today the statement from the Secretary-General congratulating Viet Nam and its international partners for today’s signing of a Just Energy Transition Partnership to accelerate Viet Nam’s shift away from coal and towards just and renewables-driven economic growth.
The Secretary-General said that with today’s agreement, Viet Nam is pioneering a new framework of collaboration to deliver a fair, inclusive energy transition towards renewables. These Partnerships are a crucial tool to unlock the emissions cuts our world needs in the 2020s, Mr. Guterres said, but added that we’re still a long way to go to bridge the global emissions gap that risks undermining the imperative to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees.
GANDHI
Also this morning, the Secretary-General spoke at the unveiling of the bust of Mahatma Gandhi that was donated by the Government and Permanent Mission of India this morning. He said that Gandhi-ji’s anti-imperialist vision was foundational for the United Nations, adding that Gandhi’s success in mobilizing millions for anti-colonial resistance, while adhering to the principles of non-violence, inspired people across the world.
SECURITY COUNCIL
The Secretary-General also spoke this morning at the Security Council meeting this morning on multilateralism. He said that strengthening multilateralism to address today’s global challenges has been his highest priority since assuming office as Secretary-General.
He said that next year, he will present a New Agenda for Peace that will take a long view and a wide lens. It will speak to all Member States and address the full range of new and old security challenges that we face – local, national, regional and international.
Mr. Guterres added that the Black Sea Grain Initiative shows that the United Nations still has a unique and important role in brokering solutions to global challenges. We must build on and expand such innovative approaches, he said.
DSG TRAVELS
The Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed will be heading to Montreal, Canada, on behalf of the Secretary-General, to attend the closing session of the Fifteenth meeting of the Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biodiversity known as COP15. On the evening of 15 December, she will proceed to Doha, in Qatar, at the invitation from the Government, to undertake various Sustainable Development Goal-related activities and to meet with senior Government officials and attend a World Cup game. She will return to New York on Sunday before the final.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
Further on the floods in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, I expect a statement to be with us very shortly. Just to let you know that our humanitarian colleagues tell us that, according to Government figures, more than 140 people have lost their lives and more than 38,000 families have been impacted.
Authorities also report that more than 280 houses have been destroyed. A section of the major road linking Kinshasa to the neighbouring Kongo Central Province - a major provider of food products – has collapsed, raising fears of an increase in food prices. The Government also warned that areas are at risk of erosion due to the flooding.
Kinshasa joins a growing list of provinces impacted by floods since October.
National and provincial authorities are leading the response. We ourselves and our partners are in contact with the authorities and are standing by ready to help if asked.
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
Going just north to the Central African Republic where, following a surge in armed group violence, our peacekeeping mission there – MINUSCA – has boosted its activities to protect civilians in the country’s south-central region. The Mission reports that, in the past week, its troops have carried out over 1,700 patrols to assess the security situation and prevent violence against local communities in areas where tensions are high. This includes seven patrols conducted jointly with the Central African armed forces. On the political front, MINUSCA continues to support preparations for local elections scheduled for July of next year. This includes the training 26 members of the internal forces in Damara to bolster security, building the capacity of local administrative inspectors to evaluate and audit public policies, as well as helping governors and prefects implement good governance processes, as part of their efforts to restore authority.
SUDAN
Turning to Sudan, the Humanitarian Coordinator, Khardiata Lo Ndiaye, today launched the 2023 humanitarian appeal for the country seeking $1.7 billion.
Humanitarian needs are at a record high in Sudan. We and our partners estimate that one in three Sudanese people – which is a total of 15.8 million men, women and children – will require life-saving assistance next year. This is 1.5 million more than last year and the highest number in ten years.
Conflict, economic deterioration, climate shocks like floods, and disease outbreaks remain the main drivers of this crisis.
There have also been unprecedented spikes in food insecurity due to soaring food and fuel prices, the economic and political crises and poor harvests. The humanitarian community is grateful for the generous support by donors and asks for continued support in 2023.
SRI LANKA
Our team in Sri Lanka, led by Resident Coordinator Hanaa Singer-Hamdy, continues to support the response to the country’s economic crisis. The revised Humanitarian Needs and Priorities Plan aims to provide lifesaving assistance to 3.4 million people and has so far raised $93.2 million, that’s 62 per cent of its $149.7 million funding target for Sri Lanka. Through this and other appeals, UN agencies are mitigating food insecurity worsened by poor harvests and inflation. In recent weeks, we and our partners have been able to scale-up assistance due largely to the faster arrival of humanitarian commodities such as rice, fertilizer and medicines. Nearly 9,300 metric tons of fertilizer arrived at Colombo port as part of support from USAID through the Food and Agricultural Organization, and in January, we expect 36,000 metric tons of Phosphate fertilizer to arrive for use in the next planting season.
GREENING THE BLUE
Today, the UN Environment Programme released this year’s Greening the Blue report, which highlights the environmental impact of over 307,000 UN personnel in 53 reporting entities across Headquarters, field offices and operations on the ground.
The report shows the UN system accelerated efforts on environmental governance and environmental training in 2021.
Last year, the UN system’s greenhouse gas emissions decreased to approximately 1.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from around 1.5 million tonnes in 2020. Per capita emissions also dropped to 4 tonnes of carbon dioxide – that’s a 1 tonne reduction from 2020. Facilities accounted for 56 per cent of our emissions, with air travel making up 29 per cent and other travel comprising 15 per cent, not to mention the hot air in this room – that is a joke.
And last year, the number of UN entities that had environmental management systems doubled compared to 2020 levels. Environmental training also increased, with 46 per cent of the UN system now offering this type of training to staff.
WATER AND SANITATION
The World Health Organization and the UN-Water mechanism today released a report showing that urgent action is needed globally and locally to achieve safe and sustainably managed water, sanitation and hygiene for all. According to the report, while 45 per cent of countries are on track to achieve their nationally-defined drinking-water coverage targets, only 25 per cent of countries are on track to achieve their national sanitation targets.
For the first time in 50 years, the global community—through the United Nations—will review progress and make firm commitments to renew action on water and sanitation with global leaders at a historic summit planned in 2023. The UN 2023 Water Conference will take place at UN Headquarters in New York on 22-24 March.
AFGHANISTAN
We issued a statement on Afghanistan yesterday in which the Secretary-General condemned the attack on the hotel in Kabul.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
I have a statement on the Democratic of the Congo, which says that the Secretary-General is deeply saddened by the loss of life and heavy damage in Kinshasa and in some provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo due to floods, the worst to hit the country since 2019.
These floods have destroyed homes and farmland, as well as schools and other public infrastructure.
The Secretary-General extends his condolences to the families of the victims, as well as to the people and Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo. He wishes a speedy recovery to those injured. The United Nations expresses its solidarity with the Democratic Republic of Congo as we support the response in any way we can.
PRESS BRIEFING TOMORROW
Tomorrow, at 12:45 p.m. there will be a briefing here by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, H.E. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. He will brief you on the ending of Pakistan’s G77 Presidency.
