AFGHANISTAN
Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that we, along with our partners, continue to deliver aid to millions of people in need in Afghanistan.
Yesterday, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) resumed the distribution of relief items to internally displaced people in Jalalabad, who had fled conflict in Kunar Province. Plans are in place for the distribution of relief items for 5,900 people displaced by conflict.
Also yesterday, a non-governmental organization provided urgently needed fuel to Ghor Hospital in the west of the country, with more support planned by the United Nations.
In the south, some 98,000 people who were displaced by conflict reportedly returned to their areas of origin since the Taliban took control of Lashkargah city in Hilmand Province. According to provincial authorities, about 84,000 people who returned to their homes are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance, particularly food and shelter.
Nearly 635,000 people have been displaced by conflict across Afghanistan this year alone. In addition, some 5.5 million people remain in protracted displacement since 2012.
ETHIOPIA
Turning to Ethiopia, our colleagues are telling us that the spillover of the conflict in Tigray into Amhara and Afar provinces continues to dramatically increase humanitarian needs. More than 1.7 million people in both regions are reportedly food insecure.
According to regional authorities, more than 140,000 people were displaced in Afar and more than 233,000 people were recently displaced in Dessie and Kombolcha in Amhara.
Despite access constraints to some areas in both regions due to the ongoing hostilities and lack of funds, we, along with our partners, continue to scale up the response and support the authorities-led response efforts in both regions.
Our humanitarian colleagues are telling us that between 5 and 7 September, 147 trucks of humanitarian assistance arrived into Tigray from Afar. Before that, no trucks had been able to go into Tigray since 22 August.
As a reminder, while this development is very much welcome, 100 trucks with food, non-food items and fuel must enter Tigray every single day to meet the scale of the needs on the ground.
In another welcome development, the first of the European Union’s Humanitarian Air Bridge flights arrived in Tigray on 11 September, carrying 7 metric tons of nutritional supplies.
The UN’s Humanitarian Air Service passenger flights in and out of Tigray continue to operate two flights per week as planned, with 12 flights having operated since July.
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC/GABON
Today, the UN Mission in the Central African Republic announced the decision by the Secretariat to repatriate all Gabonese military units from the Central African Republic, effective immediately.
This decision follows credible reports received by the Mission of sexual abuse by the Gabonese military contingent deployed to the peacekeeping mission, and the history of pending allegations involving the Gabonese contingent in the country. Gabon has been formally notified of the Secretariat’s decision.
The Mission also dispatched an immediate response team to the location to assess the situation, establish prevention measures and raise awareness among communities on how to report sexual exploitation and abuse.
The Mission has referred the victims to humanitarian partners for medical, psychosocial and protection assistance, in line with our policies on support to victims of sexual exploitation and abuse.
SOMALIA
Moving on to Somalia, I can tell you that we strongly condemn the deadly terrorist attack that took place in Mogadishu yesterday. We extend our deep condolences to the families of the victims and wish a swift recovery to those injured.
We will continue to stand with the people and Government of Somalia in their efforts against terrorism and violent extremism to strengthen peace and security in the country.
GLOBAL COMPACT
Back here, this morning, the Secretary-General spoke virtually, but live, to the board of the UN Global Compact. He said public and private actors must come together to drive a sustainable recovery to the pandemic and tackle climate change.
He stressed that we must make a just transition to a net-zero carbon world, leaving no one behind and added that private finance for climate investments must increase significantly. He told members of the Board that they can lead by transforming their own operations and industries; by shaping consumption; and by using their influence to promote green government action.
The Secretary-General noted that investing in inclusive, sustainable economies could yield a direct economic gain of $26 trillion through 2030, and that transitioning to a circular economy that reduces, reuses and recycles materials could create six million jobs over the same time horizon. The full remarks have been shared with you.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
The Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, met this morning with the chiefs of all UN entities working on sustainable development to review the progress made in the last year against sustainable development priorities on the COVID-19 recovery.
The UN Sustainable Development Group agreed to continue the UN reform implementation to meet the demand of the 2030 Agenda. For the first time, the Group endorsed an accountability framework that brings together the UN system at all levels towards the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. This is centered around the strengthened leadership of Resident Coordinators, in line with reforms of the UN development system. The Group also discussed the way forward in advancing the “Our Common Agenda” report, which the Secretary-General launched on Friday.
SECURITY COUNCIL
The Security Council held an open meeting on South Sudan.
Briefing Council members virtually was Nicholas Haysom, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in South Sudan. He said that, on 12 September, South Sudan marked the three-year anniversary of the revitalized peace agreement.
He noted that there have been some positive developments registered in recent months, including the inauguration of the reconstituted Parliament and the appointments of women to senior positions.
Mr. Haysom noted that significant challenges for the peace process remain, including the establishment of impartial and unified security institutions, especially for the electoral process.
He also expressed concern over the increasingly restricted civic space.
SYRIA
The Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, will be briefing the Security Council on Syria this afternoon, following his visit to the region at the end of last month.
He is expected to brief on the increasing needs facing Syrians after 10 years of conflict, recent developments in getting access to people in need following the Security Council’s adoption of resolution 2585 in July, and the need for adequate funding to respond.
Mr. Griffiths’ full remarks will be available to you.
COVAX
A COVAX update for you, today from Sri Lanka:
The UN team, led by the Resident Coordinator, Hanaa Singer-Hamdy, has been working with authorities, as well as national and international partners, to tackle the pandemic, including through an accelerated vaccination drive.
More than 3.3 million doses of vaccines have arrived through the COVAX. So far, 60 per cent of the population has received at least one dose, with nearly 50 per cent having received two doses.
The UN team has also provided technical expertise and provided medical machinery, test kits, personal protection equipment and beds for intensive care units.
The UN is also supporting distance learning for some 700,000 children, supporting more than 350,000 workers, and addressing food security for 200,000 people.
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF DEMOCRACY
Today is the International Day of Democracy, which is a good thing. In his message, the Secretary-General stressed that, as the world struggles to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic and its devastating consequences, we must learn from the lessons of the past 18 months to strengthen democratic resilience in the face of future crises.
He pointed out that strengthening democracy also means embracing genuine participation in decision-making, including peaceful protests, giving a real voice to people and communities that have traditionally been excluded, and emphasized that democracy simply cannot survive, let alone flourish, in the absence of civic space.
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE YOUTH OBSERVANCE
I want to flag that Friday, 17 September, at 10 a.m., the virtual International Day of Peace Youth Observance will take place, under the theme “Recovering better for an equitable and sustainable world”.
Participants include the Secretary-General; Messengers of Peace Midori, Paulo Coelho and Jane Goodall; as well as students from more than 20 countries. This is organized by the UN Department of Global Communications and will be live streamed on UN WebTV, UN YouTube channel and the UN Twitter account.
NOON BRIEFING GUESTS TOMORROW
Tomorrow, our guests will be the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Haiti, Bruno Lemarquis, and IOM's Chief of Mission in Haiti, Giuseppe Loprete. They will brief us virtually on Haiti on the situation as we mark the one-month anniversary of the earthquake.
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION
We have now 128 Member States that have pain in full. We thank our friends in a country that has two capitals – an executive and a legislative one, and that recently changed its name.
We thank our friends in Eswatini.
***The guest at the Noon Briefing was Richard Kozul-Wright, the Director of Globalization and Development Strategies Division at the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), who presented UNCTAD's Trade and Development Report 2021.
