HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
MONDAY, 22 NOVEMBER 2021
SECRETARY-GENERAL/COLOMBIA
The Secretary-General is heading to Colombia to participate in celebrations of the Fifth Anniversary of the signing of the 2016 Final Peace Agreement between the Government of Colombia and the former FARC-EP.
Tomorrow, he will make a field trip to the Department of Antioquia, where he will visit an area for Training and Reintegration in Llano Grande.
In the afternoon, he will also attend the Fifth Anniversary Ceremony organized by the Government in the town of Apartadó and later, he will have a meeting with members of civil society, including women, indigenous groups and youth.
DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL
The Deputy Secretary-General spoke at a General Assembly meeting on the UN Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons. She said that renewed and reinvigorated global action against this crime is needed more than ever.
Global crises, including the pandemic, have set back progress on the issue, she said, adding that survivors of trafficking in many countries have encountered greater difficulties in accessing essential services.
To end this suffering and injustice, Ms. Mohammed said that we need to support all countries to build strong legal institutions and frameworks to respond to this crime, with survivors at the centre of our policies. Today’s General Assembly meeting can reinforce the need for greater cooperation and action against human trafficking, she said. Those remarks were shared with you.
AFGHANISTAN
The UN Development Programme (UNDP), in an alarming report about the banking and financial systems in Afghanistan, says that non-performing loans in the credit market have increased from around 30 percent at the end of 2020 to 57 percent in September of this year.
As the run on banks to withdraw savings continues, UNDP projects that the deposits’ base would shrink by as much as 40 percent by the end of the year.
The indicators in the report serve as a warning that the Afghan banking and financial systems are on the brink of collapse.
The document also outlines a series of solutions to the crisis, which include deposit insurance for depositors; adequate liquidity for the banking system; and credit guarantees and loan repayment delay options for the real economy.
AFGHANISTAN
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that the humanitarian response in Afghanistan is scaling up with improved funding and access to life-saving aid. However, needs and vulnerabilities are increasing and outpacing the capacity of humanitarians to reach people in crisis. One in four pregnant women and one in two children are malnourished. One in two people do not know where their next meal is coming from. And one in two people now need humanitarian aid to survive.
Between the 1st of September and the 15th of November, UN and NGO partners provided 7.2 million people with food assistance; reached more than 880,000 people with primary and secondary healthcare consultations; They assisted almost 199,000 drought-affected people through water trucking; and treated more than 178,000 children under five for acute malnutrition.
Afghanistan’s Flash Appeal seeking $606 million to help 11 million people most in need in the last four months of 2021 is 100 per cent funded. We are grateful for the generous contributions of the donor community. However, all financial commitments have not been translated into actions on the ground due to financial system challenges amid the cash and liquidity crisis.
MYANMAR
The United Nations is deeply concerned by the intensification of arbitrary arrests in Myanmar. The targeting of members of the National League for Democracy (NLD), affiliates and others promoting a return to Myanmar's democratic path, and those exercising their most basic rights to peaceful assembly. These arbitrary arrests must stop.
The United Nations also remains concerned over recent attacks on NLD offices, and recalls the Security Council's Presidential Statement of March of this year, expressing concern over arbitrary detentions of Members of Government including the President and State Counsellor.
The United Nations is expressing its continued concern over the intensifying crackdown and treatment of detainees by the military, including increased reports of sexual violence. Credible reports indicate that at least 175 people have died while in custody since February of this year. That includes 50 deaths in custody reported since the beginning of October alone, and many of the bodies showed signs of mistreatment or torture. We reiterate our call for the release of all detainees and for the cessation of violence on all sides.
SECURITY COUNCIL
This morning, the Security Council held an open debate on the impact of Trafficking of Arms on Peace and Security.
At this briefing, Robin Geiss, the Head of the UN Institute for Disarmament Research, reiterated that the diversion and trafficking in arms, including small arms, light weapons and ammunitions, is a defining factor undermining peace and security. He urged States to adopt a more inclusive approach to strengthening weapons and ammunitions management.
MICRONESIA
The Secretary-General’s Representative in the Federated States of Micronesia, Resident Coordinator Jaap van Hierden, presented his credentials to authorities today.
There is more on-the ground presence of the UN family, as requested by Member States, to support authorities and all people in the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
Mr. van Hierden confirmed that the UN will strengthen its support across all national priorities, leveraging partnerships and innovation in support of climate change adaptation, social development and inclusive, sustainable economic growth.
The UN team will also support the authorities to address and recover better from the pandemic to advance the Sustainable Development Goals. It is anticipated that the UN presence in Micronesia will be gradually reinforced with this newly established multi-country office.
SENIOR PERSONNEL APPOINTMENT
On Friday afternoon, the Secretary-General appointed Caroline Ziadeh of Lebanon as his new Special Representative and Head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo, or UNMIK.
Ms. Ziadeh succeeds Zahir Tanin of Afghanistan to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his dedicated efforts to further peace and stability in Kosovo and the region, and his effective leadership of the Mission.
As some may recall, Caroline Ziadeh was for a long time Deputy Permanent Representative of Lebanon at the UN, and she has diplomatic experience of over 30 years, most recently as a Director in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants in Lebanon.
NOON BRIEFING GUESTS
The guests at the noon briefing today were the Under-Secretaries-General Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Atul Khare and Catherine Pollard, the Heads of the departments of Peacekeeping, Operational Support and Management.
They were joined by the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea, Ambassador Cho Hyun. They briefed reporters on the 2021 Seoul UN Peacekeeping Ministerial Meeting, which will be held from the 7th to the 8th of December.
