HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC

SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES

FRIDAY, 23 SEPTEMBER 2022

SECRETARY-GENERAL/GROUP OF 77 & CHINA 
This morning, the Secretary-General spoke at the opening ceremony of the 46th annual meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Group of 77 and China. 
As we reach the halfway point to the 2030 Agenda, let us be clear, he said, we are moving backwards. 
The Secretary-General added that rescuing the Sustainable Development Goals requires governments to invest heavily in their people and the systems that support them: health, education, social protection, housing and decent work.   
But, the Secretary-General said, developing countries are blocked in their efforts to invest in recovery and development.   

GLOBAL ACCELERATOR ON JOBS AND SOCIAL PROTECTION 
The Secretary-General spoke at the High-Level event on the Implementation of the Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions. 
As you know, the Accelerator was launched one year ago in direct response to the pandemic to support countries through the crisis.  
The Secretary-General said that the need for this initiative is even greater now as crises are compounding and bringing new challenges to countries. 
He also stressed that the Accelerator is a critical tool as we have an economic system that is currently boosting inequalities and pushing more people into poverty.  
He called on countries to support the objectives of the Global Accelerator and develop national policies that allow for just transitions and protection.     

SECRETARY-GENERAL/PACIFIC ISLANDS FORUM 
Lastly, he spoke this morning at the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ meeting. 
He told the leaders that they are on the frontlines of climate chaos, noting that those who did nothing to create this crisis are paying the highest price. 
The Secretary-General commended the powerful, consistent, and united voice of the Pacific urging climate action at a scale commensurate with the scope of the challenge. 
He stressed the need for the strong moral voice and leadership of the Pacific to impel everyone – especially G20 countries, who account for 80 per cent of global emissions – to take action to phase out fossil fuels and meet finance commitments in full. 

HAITI 
On Haiti, as unrest continues in Haiti, the Secretary-General condemns the violence in all forms witnessed in the country in recent weeks and calls on all actors to work together to de-escalate the situation and ensure a return to calm.  
In the past weeks, Helen La Lime, the head of the UN Mission in Haiti, has further intensified her good offices with government representatives, political actors, civil society groups and private sector stakeholders in search for a compromise on a peaceful transition leading to the restoration of democratically elected institutions. 
The Mission continues to encourage Haitian stakeholders to engage in constructive discussions on ways to chart a common way forward and will continue to support Haitian-led efforts for a consensual transition arrangement.
For their part, our humanitarian colleagues in Haiti are calling for an immediate stop to attacks on humanitarian infrastructure and the looting of supplies.  
Following the attacks of UN-backed warehouses in different cities across Haiti, the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Ulrika Richardson, called for safe access for humanitarian workers and supplies and highlighted the important contribution of international and local NGOs, working often in volatile and dangerous situations across the country. Many of those organizations have been directly targeted by looters. 

Ethiopia
In Ethiopia, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says hostilities continue there, with reports of hundreds of thousands of people being displaced in parts of Tigray, Afar and Amhara in recent weeks.  
Aid workers cannot access large parts of Tigray and several areas in Amhara and Afar due to the reported fighting. Humanitarian convoys through the only available land route into Tigray remain suspended.  
The UN Humanitarian Air Service flights to and from Tigray have been suspended since August 25th, halting the transport of commodities and operational cash into Tigray.  
The UN, along with our partners, continue to respond and deliver available supplies in areas we can access across the three regions, but it is clearly not enough to meet the existing needs. 
In Tigray, 1.4 million men, women, and children, were reached with food at the beginning of this month, bringing the total to more than 2.1 million out of the 5.4 million people targeted since August.  
In Amhara, our partners helped displaced people with food, including more than 30,000 people at Jarra site. Water trucking and the distribution of non-food items started in some displacement sites, and 86 mobile health and nutrition teams are operating in the region. 
In Afar, our partners reached nearly 200,000 people with food and other services. 

AFGHANISTAN
The Secretary-General condemned today’s attack in front of Wazir Akbar Khan Mosque in Kabul following Friday prayers. The Secretary-General conveys his condolences to the families of the victims and wishes a swift recovery to those injured.
 
UKRAINE/WOMEN AND GIRLS 
The UN Global Crisis Response Group on the War in Ukraine and UN Women yesterday released a policy paper showing how the war and its global impacts on food, energy, and finance are impacting women and girls disproportionately, both inside and outside Ukraine and globally. The policy paper warns that war-induced food price hikes and shortages have widened the global gender gap in food insecurity. Spiralling energy prices have also caused families to return to using less-clean fuels and technologies, exposing women and girls to household air pollution, which already kills 3.2 million people, mostly women and children, per year.  
According to the report, there are alarming increases in gender-based violence, transactional sex for food and survival, sexual exploitation and trafficking, and early, child, and forced marriages as a result of these worsening 
living conditions in conflict, crisis, and humanitarian contexts worldwide. More online.  

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF SIGN LANGUAGES 
Today is the International Day of Sign Language.  The aim of the Day is to raise awareness of the importance of sign language in the full realization of the human rights of people who are deaf.  
 
ERI KANEKO
And just a staffing note to share with you: Twelve years ago, our colleague Eri Kaneko joined the office. She has survived two Secretaries-General and two spokespersons.   
Sadly, this is her last day with us. On Monday, she will move on to her new job, where she will coordinate communications for our colleagues in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. 
As we all know, coordination saves lives. So I am sure a lot of lives will be saved.
As a pillar of our office, and her attention to detail, which is unequaled, over the years, she has helped us serve you better by providing you the information you needed.
She’s also kept us well fed with unique Japanese snacks – some of which my deeply French conservative views on food prohibited me from eating, but I am told by others they were good. 
I know you will join me in thanking Eri and wishing her all the best, even though  she will be only a few floors away.