HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ,
DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
TUESDAY, 19 MARCH 2019
SG TRAVEL
As we announced last week, the Secretary-General is traveling this afternoon to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to attend the Second High-level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation.
Tomorrow morning, the Secretary-General will deliver remarks at the Conference, which will focus on the ‘Role of South-South cooperation and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: challenges and opportunities.’
While in the Argentine capital, the Secretary-General will meet with the country’s President, Mauricio Macri.
The Secretary-General will be back in New York on Thursday.
YEMEN
Martin Griffiths, the Special Envoy for Yemen, said today that, following constructive discussions with both parties, there is significant progress towards an agreement to implement phase one of the redeployments of the Hudaydah agreement. Operational details will be presented to the parties in the Redeployment Coordination Committee (RCC) for endorsement shortly.
The Special Envoy welcomes the progress made by the parties and looks forward to the swift endorsement of the plan by the RCC. The UN hopes that this will pave the way towards the pursuit of a comprehensive political solution in Yemen.
SYRIA
The Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, has been in Damascus for the past two days, where he had good in-depth discussions with Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem on the implementation of Security Council resolution 2254. Special Envoy Pedersen stressed that progress was made and that he looks forward to returning to continue the good cooperation that has been established.
Today, Special Envoy Pedersen is on a field visit to Homs, where he is scheduled to see internally displaced persons (IDPs) and returnees and observe UN humanitarian work.
The United Nations remains gravely concerned by continued reports of civilian casualties due to hostilities in northwestern Syria. Between 15–18 March, shelling affected many villages in Idleb, Hama and Aleppo governorates, reportedly killing and injuring many civilians, including women and children. Since September 2018, over 160 people were reportedly killed by shelling and air strikes.
CYCLONE IDAI
We have an update on the impact of Tropical Cyclone Idai from our colleagues at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
In Mozambique, Beira City has suffered extensive damage, according to reports from preliminary assessments and aerial overviews. As of today, at least 84 people have been confirmed dead – but that toll is likely to rise according to the Government.
OCHA says that the exact numbers of people affected are not yet known as many areas remain inaccessible.
Our humanitarian colleagues also add that logistics and warehousing capacity remain a challenge. UNICEF’s warehouse was damaged. The World Food Programme’s (WFP) office and warehouse in Beira were also damaged, but some of its stocks – including ready-to-use nutritious food for malnourished children and women – have been salvaged.
The UN and humanitarian partners are supporting the government-led relief efforts in Mozambique, including assistance to 3,800 families in accommodation centers, supporting urgent response in health facilities, and cash transfer and vouchers assistance. Four helicopters, including one from WFP – are supporting the response in-country.
In Malawi, 920,000 people have been affected by the cyclone and 82,000 people are displaced. OCHA has deployed resources to support assessments and information management, and UNICEF is deploying additional supplies to affected areas including tents, water and sanitation supplies and learning materials to affected children.
And in Zimbabwe, flooding continues to cause massive destruction. At least 82 deaths and over 200 injuries have been reported with 217 people reportedly missing.
The hardest-hit district of Chimanimani remains inaccessible as heavy rains have damaged roads and main access bridges have been washed away.
The UN and humanitarian partners are supporting the government-led relief efforts.
DRC
On the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock, the UNICEF Executive Director, Henrietta Fore, and the Secretary General of the International federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, El Hadj As Sy, are on a joint mission there and arrived in the eastern part of the country.
In Goma, in north Kivu province, the delegation visited a local hospital where they heard testimonies from women survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. They also met with local and international activists to discuss how to combat this violence and better protect women.
Mr. Lowcock and Mr. Sy also visited an Ebola operation center to see the work being accomplished by the teams monitoring the disease. The DRC is going through its longest Ebola outbreak, which has killed close to 600 people since it started eight months ago in North Kivu and Ituri provinces.
MYANMAR
From Myanmar, the Acting Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in the country, Knut Ostby, said today that he is deeply concerned about new reports of fighting between the Arakan Army and Myanmar security forces.
These clashes continue to cause civilian casualties and are uprooting communities in Rakhine State.
Mr. Ostby urged all sides to ensure the protection of civilians, resolve differences through peaceful means and uphold their responsibilities under International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law, including the preservation of sites of cultural heritage.
He also stressed the need for effective humanitarian access to people in need, especially children, women, the elderly and other affected people.
The United Nations is in contact with the Myanmar authorities and stands ready to continue to provide humanitarian support.
PHILIPPINES
Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that they are concerned about armed clashes in the Southern Philippines between the army and non-state armed groups. The fighting has uprooted more than 47,000 people.
The UN and our humanitarian partners are supporting Government-led relief efforts by delivering aid to nearly 35,000 displaced people in Maguindanao and by carrying out joint assessments.
SECURITY COUNCIL
The Security Council heard a briefing today from the ambassador of Indonesia, in his capacity as chair of the Sanctions Committee dealing with Resolution 1540, which concerns the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.
SENIOR PERSONNEL APPOINTMENT
And last, I have a personnel announcement to make. Today, the Secretary-General, along with World Food Programme Executive Director David Beasley and Food and Agriculture Organization Director-General José Graziano da Silva are announcing the appointment of Ute Klamert of Germany as Assistant Executive Director, Partnerships and Governance, of the WFP, at the Assistant Secretary-General level.
Ms. Klamert succeeds Elisabeth Rasmusson of Norway, who retired last year. The Secretary-General, WFP’s Executive Director and FAO’s Director-General are deeply grateful for her dedicated service and distinguished United Nations career.
Ms. Klamert has worked for 27 years for the German Corporation for International Cooperation, both in the field and at headquarters. She has deep experience at the nexus of development and humanitarian affairs and a track record of network-building and resource mobilization.
