HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ,

DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES

TUESDAY, 27 APRIL 2021

CYPRUS
The informal meeting of the 5+1 on the Cyprus issue got underway in Geneva a few hours ago. 
As you know, the Secretary-General decided to organize this meeting following the consultations conducted over the past several months on his behalf by Under-Secretary-General Jane Holl Lute. 
Not long ago, the Secretary-General held a bilateral meeting with the Turkish Cypriot delegation, and he is about to start one with the Greek Cypriot delegation.  
This evening, the Secretary-General will host a reception for the heads of delegations. 
On Wednesday morning, he will host a plenary meeting with the five parties, and he is then expected to hold bilateral meetings with each of the five delegations in the afternoon. 
Later that evening, Mr. Guterres will host an informal dinner for the heads of delegations. 
More meetings are expected on Thursday, for which we will release details later. 
The purpose of the meeting will be to determine whether common ground exists for the parties to negotiate a lasting solution to the Cyprus issue within a foreseeable horizon. 

YEMEN
The UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, concluded a two-day visit to Egypt on Monday.  He met there with the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sameh Shoukry, and the Secretary General of the Arab League, Ahmad Abu Al Gheit, as well as a number of representatives of Yemeni political parties, tribal sheikhs, women, civil society and journalists. Mr. Griffiths also met virtually with the Yemeni Speaker of Parliament, Sultan Barakani.
The Special Envoy briefed the Egyptian Foreign Minister and the Secretary-General of the Arab League about ongoing efforts to reach a ceasefire in Yemen, alleviate the humanitarian situation and revive an inclusive political process to resolve the conflict.
In his meetings with representatives of Yemeni civil society, women, political parties and journalists, Mr. Griffiths stressed the need for the attack on Ma’rib to stop. He warned of the dire humanitarian consequences of the continued attack, and the risks to the prospects of the peace process.

Meanwhile, the Office for the Coordination of humanitarian Affairs reports that fierce fighting continues in Yemen’s Marib governorate.
Nearly 20,000 people have been displaced by violence in the region since early February, and dozens of civilians have been killed or injured.
Humanitarian organizations are on the ground responding to these growing humanitarian needs. Today, the UN started regular Humanitarian Air Service flights to Marib. This will cut the journey down to two hours from seven, and will help the humanitarian community to deliver quickly much-needed assistance.
Over recent weeks, hostilities have also escalated in other parts of Yemen, causing devastating loss of life and hardship for Yemenis, many of whom are on the brink of starvation. We continue to call for a nationwide ceasefire.
The UN and partners also urgently need more support to sustain the lifesaving response in Marib and across Yemen. The 2021 Humanitarian Response Plan is currently 34 per cent funded, with $1.32 billion received out of $3.85 billion required.

SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES/BARBADOS
In Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the UN colleagues, working with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), is in the country and in neighbouring Barbados to provide environmental assistance in support of both governments following La Soufrière’s eruption. The volcano continues to erupt and remains at red alert level.
The 14-person team, 12 of whom are in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, includes five environmental specialists with expertise in geology, ash management, environmental pollution and green response.
Air quality, ash management and related water and soil contamination are among the main environmental concerns. Other challenges include sanitation in shelters, the excessive use of plastics, as well as the large amount of waste generated by ongoing relief efforts.
Food security and livelihoods have also been affected due to the impact of the eruption on agriculture, livestock, marine ecosystems and ecotourism.

SOMALIA
The following statement was issued yesterday:
The Secretary-General is deeply concerned about the recent armed clashes in Mogadishu. He reiterates his call for all Somali stakeholders to refrain from further violence and resolve their differences through dialogue and compromise. 
The Secretary-General urges all Somali stakeholders to resume negotiations immediately and forge an agreement based on the 17 September Electoral Model and Baidoa proposals.

SECURITY COUNCIL
At a Security Council open debate on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, Mark Lowcock, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, said there hasn’t been enough progress in the compliance with international humanitarian law to protect civilians and the objects they rely on to survive.
He pointed to three areas to strengthen the protection of civilians. First, he said, we need improvements in the identification of indispensable civilian objects, as well as compliance with “no-strike” lists that include them.
Second, Mr. Lowcock renewed his plea to avoid the use of explosive weapons with wide-area effects in populated areas.
Finally, he said that ensuring accountability for serious violations of international humanitarian law is one of the greatest challenges we face in strengthening the protection of civilians. Unless there is accountability, he added, miscreants will draw the lesson that serious crime pays.
Mr. Lowcock concluded by saying that what we need now is the political will from Member States and all parties to armed conflict to respect the rules and do the right thing.
 
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
The UN Mission in the Central African Republic, MINUSCA, has carried out a civil-military assessment mission in the Ouham-Pendé prefecture to document facts regarding multiple allegations of human rights violations. The joint mission was also an opportunity to raise awareness among the Central African Armed Forces, the Internal Security Forces, and civil society about the nature of these human rights violations, as well as the Mission’s mandate. 
The Mission also recently organized a workshop for members of their Community Violence Reduction project in the city of Bangassou, in the Mbomou Prefecture. The workshop focused on the implementation of income-generating activities, COVID-19 prevention, and also included a call for blood donations.
This is part of the Mission’s activities to support the rehabilitation of public infrastructure to support Bangassou’s development. The project will enable its 500 participants to get back into the workforce.
 
COLOMBIA
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has launched this year’s Humanitarian Response Plan for Colombia. The plan requests $174 million to reach 1.4 million people.
Humanitarian needs in the country increased last year as a result of the pandemic. Some 6.7 million people need humanitarian assistance, including 5.6 million who are in severe need.
OCHA said that 3.5 million people are facing severe food insecurity, mostly as a result of the pandemic. Women and children continue to be the most affected as well as ethnic minorities, such as indigenous communities in peripheral areas of the country.

INDIA/COVID-19
In India, UN colleagues on the ground continue supporting authorities and communities to tackle the impacts of the pandemic.
UN entities have been training health workers, including 10,000 nurses through UN Women initiatives. Our UN team also partnered with employers’ and workers’ organizations to promote jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities. Eleven help desks and on-site counselling activities on COVID-19 prevention and business continuity were set up by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO). These have benefitted over 140,000 employees.
UNIDO also developed an online platform to help companies bounce back from the crisis, tailored to smaller businesses, while ILO helped over 100,000 self-employed workers to access social security measures and training on safety and health.
The UN is also focusing on getting jobs for 10 million young people. Over 13,000 women and youth, including returnee migrants, are being trained through entrepreneurship programmes led by UN Women and ILO. And a web portal from the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) to boost e-commerce has benefitted 950 women entrepreneurs in small and medium businesses.

COVAX
In Latin America and the Caribbean, Jamaica, Paraguay and Ecuador have recently received their second batches of COVAX-backed vaccines. Yesterday, Jamaica received over 55,000 doses, while Paraguay got more than 130,000 doses and Ecuador 330,000. These are UN-backed efforts at the global, regional and country levels, working closely with local health authorities, to boost the national vaccination campaign, focusing on at-risk groups first.
 
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
Today, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has launched a yellow fever vaccination campaign targeting more than 16.3 million people. This is the first such drive against the disease in Africa in 2021.
The campaign, which was partly delayed because of COVID-19, is being carried out in seven of the country’s 26 provinces. People aged nine months to 60 years are being targeted. The campaign also includes nearly 300,000 refugees. It is a collaborative effort involving the country’s health authorities with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners.
The vaccination campaign is part of a comprehensive strategy to eliminate yellow fever epidemics globally by 2026.

FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION
Mali is the 94th nation to pay its regular budget dues in full this year.