HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
WEDNESDAY, 17 MARCH 2021
NIGER
The Secretary-General strongly condemns the attack on 15 March by unidentified gunmen in Banibangou, in the Tillabéri region of the Republic of Niger. He expresses his deep condolences to the bereaved families and wishes a swift recovery to the injured.
The Secretary-General urges the Nigerien authorities to spare no effort in bringing the perpetrators to justice.
The Secretary-General reiterates the commitment of the United Nations to continue supporting Niger in its efforts to counter and prevent terrorism and violent extremism, promote social cohesion and achieve sustainable development.
The Head of the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, also issued a statement condemning the attack. And he urged the Nigerien authorities to take the necessary steps to ensure that those responsible for this despicable attack are arrested and brought to justice.
Mr. Chambas reiterated his solidarity with the people and Government of Niger, as well as the continued support of the United Nations for the country, and all of the countries of the region, in their efforts to prevent and combat terrorism and violent extremism.
MALI
The Head of the UN Mission in Mali, Mahamat Saleh Annadif, expressed his deep condolences to the families of the victims and the Government of Mali, following an attack on Malian forces near Gao.
Many soldiers were injured and thirty-three were killed in an attack by unknown combatants. The UN peacekeeping mission there says they
evacuated the injured soldiers to their hospital in Gao.
The UN Mission continues to work with the authorities on what additional support it can provide.
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
Moving on to the Central African Republic. Following last Sunday’s legislative elections, the UN Mission in the Central African Republic reports that the vote counting, as well as the transfer of election results from polling stations to the regional branches of the National Elections Authority, is underway.
UN peacekeepers are providing security for the safe transportation of all of the ballots, in cooperation with national security forces. Yesterday, the elections authority began releasing provisional results over local radio. The results are released by polling station, starting with Bangui, where 14 out of the 16 constituency seats were being contested.
Meanwhile, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that their partners have resumed assistance in Bria, in the Haute-Kotto Prefecture, and surrounding areas last week. Operations there were suspended at the end of February due to the risk of clashes between armed groups and national defence forces. There are over 73,000 displaced people in Bria. This is one of the country’s largest concentration of displaced people.
The overall humanitarian situation remains concerning. There are nearly 250,000 Central Africans displaced internally or as refugees in neighbouring countries.
The number of attacks against humanitarians has spiked, particularly at the beginning of the year. The Central African Republic is now one of the most dangerous places to work for humanitarians.
ISLAMOPHOBIA
In a video message to mark the International Day [against] Islamophobia, the Secretary-General said that anti-Muslim bigotry is sadly in line with other disturbing trends we are seeing globally. That includes a resurgence in ethno-nationalism, neo-Nazism, stigma and hate speech that target vulnerable populations - including Muslims, Jews, and some minority Christian communities, as well as others.
Mr. Guterres notes that the Holy Quran reminds us that nations and tribes were created to know one another. Diversity is a richness, and not a threat, he said in his message, adding that fighting discrimination, racism and xenophobia is a priority for the United Nations. That is why, he said, he launched a first ever of its kind UN Strategy on Hate Speech as well as a Plan of Action to Safeguard Religious Sites.
RACISM
Monday will be the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. In a message issued today, the Secretary-General says that racism is a deeply rooted global evil that transcends generations and contaminates societies.
He adds that we see racism in the pervasive discrimination suffered by people of African descent. We see it in the injustices and oppression endured by indigenous peoples and other ethnic minorities. And we see it in the repugnant views of white supremacists and other extremist groups.
Wherever we see racism, he says, we must condemn it without reservation, without hesitation, and without qualification.
He appeals to young people everywhere, as well as educators and leaders, to teach the world that all people are born equal.
UN FOOD SYSTEMS SUMMIT
The Pre-Summit gathering for the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit will take place in Rome, from July 19th to the 21st.
Under the leadership of the Secretary-General and the Prime Minister of Italy, Mario Draghi, the Pre-Summit event will bring together the efforts and contributions of a global engagement process to shape ambition to transform food systems.
The event will take place in a “hybrid” virtual format over three days. Many people will participate in person at the UN Food and Agricultural Organization in Rome, while others from around the world will be engaged on a vast virtual platform.
The UN Food Systems Summit will take place in September alongside the General Assembly, here in New York.
MYANMAR
In Myanmar, the UN team continues to be deeply disturbed by and concerned over the more than 2,000 people arbitrarily detained for their participation in peaceful protests or political activity. The team is also condemning the use of force against children, with at least 15 having been killed, that’s according to the UN’s Children Fund.
The International Organization for Migration says that migrants in Myanmar are among the most impacted by the current crisis.
IOM says that an estimated one in four people in Myanmar are migrants. They are either internal migrants or international migrants. Violent crackdowns have occurred in areas hosting large numbers of internal migrants.
IOM calls for an immediate cessation of violence, as well as for the protection and recognition of the fundamental rights and aspirations of migrants, of the vulnerable, and of all the people of Myanmar.
They will continue to work and to do their utmost to support the migrants in Myanmar, despite the difficult conditions.
YEMEN
The 2021 Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan has been released. The plan seeks $3.85 billion to provide urgent, lifesaving help to 16 million people. Some 20.7 million Yemenis need some kind of humanitarian assistance, including 12.1 million people in acute need.
As a reminder, just to give you some context, I think there are 28 or 29 million people living in Yemen.
Yemen continues to be the world’s worst humanitarian crisis and the largest aid operation. Famine is stalking the nation, with more than half the population facing acute food insecurity and record levels of acute malnutrition among children under five.
Last year’s Plan was only 56 per cent funded, and as you will recall, it forced us to close some critical programmes. We are doing everything we can to help, but we need adequate funding as needs continue to rise.
At the high-level pledging event that took place in early March, donors pledged only $1.7 billion for the response – that’s less than half what is required.
As he said, the Secretary-General said, the pledges represent at best a down payment. We urge donors to quickly disburse their pledges and scale up funding for the humanitarian response to save lives.
And if people have not yet pledged, it is never too late to do so.
COVAX
The State of Palestine today received its first batch of more than 60,000 doses of vaccines from the COVAX facility. The Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, welcomed the arrival and encouraged all to get vaccinated. He said that vaccines being sent to the West Bank and Gaza will be critical in the fight against the pandemic and for socioeconomic recovery.
The UN team continues to support the Government of Palestine in accessing vaccines through COVAX and also appreciates the Israeli coordination in facilitating these deliveries.
In Uzbekistan, the first batch of 660,000 doses of the vaccine arrived yesterday via COVAX. This is about a third of the more than 2.2 million doses that Uzbek authorities are scheduled to receive in the coming months through COVAX.
UNICEF has been supporting the national deployment as well as a communications campaign to address people’s hesitation towards the vaccine. For its part, WHO has helped train frontline health workers for the vaccination rollout.
And finally, in Fiji, the first phase of vaccinations of frontline health workers started last week with the arrival of 12,000 doses of the vaccine earlier this month. Fiji is the first country in the Pacific Islands to receive COVAX doses. WHO and UNICEF have helped the country prepare for the vaccine’s arrival and its rollout, including supporting the much-needed cold chain for the distribution.
COVID-19/SOUTH ASIA
In South Asia, a new report by the UN says that drastic cuts in essential public health services across the region due to the pandemic may have contributed to 228,000 additional child deaths last year. Around 11,000 additional maternal deaths are also expected.
Clinics and other facilities have been closed and many vital nutrition programmes halted as the region continues to battle to contain the virus.
UNICEF stressed that it is absolutely vital that these services be fully restored for children and mothers who are in desperate need of them, and that everything possible is to be done to ensure that people feel free to use them.
GUESTS TOMORROW
Tomorrow, Maximo Torero, the Food and Agriculture Organization’s Chief Economist, and Dominique Burgeon, FAO’s Director of the Geneva Office and Director, ad interim of the Office of Emergencies and Resilience, will be the guests at the noon briefing. They will brief on their latest report on the impact of natural disasters and crises on agriculture and food security.
