HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ,
DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
MONDAY, 18 JULY 2022
CLIMATE
This morning, the Secretary-General addressed the Petersberg Climate Dialogue in Berlin, Germany, in a pre-recorded video message.
He said that eight months ago we left COP26 with 1.5 degrees on life support and since then, its pulse has weakened further.
No nation is immune, he said, yet we continue to feed our fossil fuel addiction.
The Secretary-General said he was most troubled by our failure to work together as a multilateral community, and he called on countries to rebuild trust and collaboration on all fronts. This includes mitigation, adaptation, finance and loss and damage.
We have a choice, he said. Collective action or collective suicide.
NELSON MANDELA INTERNATIONAL DAY
This morning, the Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, addressed the Nelson Mandela Day event, organized by the General Assembly.
She first read a message of the Secretary-General in which Mr. Guterres reminded us that today, the world honours a giant of our time; a leader of unparalleled courage and towering achievement; and a man of quiet dignity and deep humanity.
He also called on all of us to honour Nelson Mandela’s legacy by taking action.
Then, speaking in her own capacity, Ms. Mohammed said that Madiba has been an inspiration for her ever since she was a young person trying to find her path.
She added that she has taken to heart his profound lesson that we all have the ability – and responsibility – to take action. Our best tribute to Madiba, she concluded, is to realize the promise of the Sustainable Development Goals, to stand united against hate, and to work for peace, prosperity, and human rights for all.
And before this morning’s event, the Deputy Secretary-General met with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and SDG Advocate Eddie Ndopu of South Africa.
The Deputy Secretary-General welcomed the commitment of the Duke and the Duchess as well as their work towards the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Deputy Secretary-General emphasized the urgent need for global unity and solidarity and the empowerment of young people to fight for global change.
MH17
This past Sunday, 17 July, marked the eighth anniversary of the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, in which 298 innocent lives were lost. The Secretary-General acknowledges the important work of the independent Joint Investigation Team and takes note of the legal proceedings taking place in the Netherlands.
He once again calls on all States, in accordance with Security Council resolution 2166, to fully cooperate with these efforts in order to establish the truth and achieve justice for the victims and their families.
SRI LANKA
The UN team in Sri Lanka, led by Resident Coordinator Hanaa Singer-Hamdy, is scaling up efforts to respond to the needs of millions of people impacted by the ongoing economic crisis, also in line with the Humanitarian Needs and Priorities Plan. Nearly 5.7 million people are in need of life-saving assistance.
In the past year, the price of rice—a staple of the Sri Lankan diet—has more than doubled, while the price of wheat flour has almost tripled, reaching unprecedented high levels and affecting millions of Sri Lankans. Similarly, prices of a wide range of imported basic food items, including sugar, dried milk, onion, and locally-produced chicken, meat, eggs and coconut oil were at record or near-record levels last month.
The World Food Programme (WFP) is currently implementing programmes to reach 1.4 million food-insecure beneficiaries by this December, with cash and voucher assistance to vulnerable households, food assistance vouchers for pregnant women and one million schoolchildren with school meals. Also, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will supply 100 kg of fertilizer to over 15,000 small-scale farmers and will work with them to bolster seed production and increase fertilizer efficiency.
For its part, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has mobilized funds for seeds and cash assistance for close to 15,000 affected people. And to support long-term economic reforms and governance, UNDP is facilitating dialogue and countering misinformation to create awareness on the current socio-economic crisis and path forward.
Also, the International Labour Organization (ILO) is providing direct support to 400 vulnerable farming households, through the provision of seeds at subsidized rates, enabling them to grow in the next harvest season. ILO is also providing support to farmers and fishermen and cash-for-work for rural communities, including women and persons with disabilities.
DRC
The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, MONUSCO, reports that suspected Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) attacked Otomabere in Ituri province. The attack was repelled by the Congolese Armed Forces with the support of MONUSCO. Alleged ADF opened fire against MONUSCO and Congolese Armed Forces troops, who responded again and repulsed the second attack. The attacks happened overnight between 16 and 17 July, with two Congolese soldiers and one civilian killed.
SOUTH SUDAN
The UN Mission in South Sudan welcomes steps taken by the Government to pursue accountability and justice for survivors of sexual violence in Yei, in Central Equatoria State.
A General Court Martial that took place from June 1st to the 27th resulted in the convictions of 21 individuals for serious crimes committed earlier this year and last year. These crimes include murder and rape, including the rape of a minor.
The Mission provided funding for survivors and witnesses to receive counselling before and after the trial, as well as interpretation and logistics assistance. The survivors were also assigned a dedicated support person during the proceedings.
Across South Sudan, our peacekeeping mission and its partners have been supporting processes for accountability and access to justice, including justice for children, through a range of special and mobile courts.
The Yei General Court Martial is part of the Mission’s ongoing collaboration with the Military Justice Directorate to strengthen accountability within the country’s armed forces.
SYRIA
The Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, announced over the weekend that it was no longer possible to hold the Ninth Session of the Small Body of the Syrian-led, Syrian-owned, UN-facilitated Constitutional Committee in Geneva from 25 to 29 July. Letters have been sent to the members of the Small Body informing them of the same.
The Special Envoy stresses the importance of all the stakeholders in this conflict protecting and firewalling the Syrian political process from their differences elsewhere in the world and encourages them to engage in constructive diplomacy on Syria.
CHAD
The head of the UN Refugee Agency, Filippo Grandi, concluded a visit to Chad this weekend by calling for greater humanitarian and development support.
Chad is home to more than 1 million forcibly displaced people, including 580,000 refugees from conflicts in neighbouring Sudan, Central African Republic and Cameroon. In addition to this, there are 380,000 Chadians who have fled insecurity to other areas, and 100,000 former refugees who have returned to the country.
Chad is one of UNHCR’s largest operations in the region. In addition to more humanitarian funding, the High Commissioner called on the international community to prioritize longer-term solutions to the challenges facing the country.
CHILDREN AND ARMED CONFLICT
Today, the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict is launching a guidance note on the abduction of children in armed conflict.
The new guidance was produced to strengthen the monitoring and reporting of this violation, and to provide practitioners with additional tools to address the abduction of children.
The office says that in recent years, the abduction of children has risen steeply in situations on the children and armed conflict agenda. In response to this worrying trend, the Security Council adopted a resolution in 2015 that formally recognized the importance of holding parties accountable for this violation.
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION
Mozambique is the 113th fully paid-up Member State this year.
