HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC

SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES

THURSDAY, 27 JANUARY 2021

HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE 
The Secretary-General just spoke virtually at the UN Memorial Ceremony marking the International Day for Holocaust remembrance. He said that if we were to observe a minute of silence for each victim, that silence would last more than eleven years. 
Our first task, Mr. Guterres said, is to remember those who perished – the six million Jews, the Roma, the Sinti, the LGBTQ communities plus, people with disabilities, and countless others. He said that we remember the desperate pleas of Jews and others to the international community and the shameful silence that met those pleas. 
The Secretary-General added that what we see today must worry us – and jolt us into action: A resurgence of Holocaust denial.  Attempts to rewrite history.  Efforts to whitewash and rehabilitate people who committed crimes against humanity. He said that we should not exaggerate the echoes of the 1930s, but neither should we be deaf to their eerie resonance today. 
Michelle Bachelet, who also issued a message, saying that our actions in remembrance of the victims of humanity's worst crimes carry with them the seeds of healing and unity – the realization that we are one humanity, equal in dignity and rights. 
 
CENTRAL SAHEL 
At a virtual meeting on the Sahel region, Martin Griffiths, the Emergency Relief Coordinator for the United Nations, said that nearly 15 million people in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso will need humanitarian assistance this year. This is four million more than one year ago. 
Driving this growing humanitarian crisis, Mr. Griffiths said, is a confluence of factors, including conflict and political instability, the pandemic, climate change, and the lack of sustainable development opportunities. 
To make real progress, he called for a greater focus on resilience, sustainable solutions, and cooperation across the humanitarian and development sectors, as well as peace sector. 
The humanitarian community will need close to US$2 billion for the humanitarian response in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso this year.  
Last year, humanitarian organizations reached more than 7 million people in the region and raised US$700 million in funding, but the needs are growing faster than available resources.  

ETHIOPIA  
In northern Ethiopia, more people are fleeing their homes due to continued fighting around the town of Abala in Afar province, near the boundary with Tigray province. The clashes are also preventing the delivery of assistance by the only available route into Tigray, with no supplies having arrived there since mid-December.  
In Tigray, the UN, along with its humanitarian partners, have been forced to scale back even more operations due to the severe shortages of supplies, the shortage of fuel and cash. Aid organizations have warned that operations could cease completely by the end of February. Nutrition supplies for supplementary feeding and treatment of severe acute malnutrition have already run out.  
As mentioned yesterday, 3.5 metric tonnes of medicine were flown into Mekelle by the UN Humanitarian Air Service, on behalf of an NGO partner.  
The fighting in Afar has reportedly led to tens of thousands of men, women and children being displaced in the last few weeks. These people urgently need food, emergency shelter, water and sanitation, and access to medical services.  
Aid continues to be scaled up in areas of Amhara and Afar which are accessible. More than 523,000 people received food in Amhara in the past week, with some 3.2 million men, women and children, having been reached with food assistance since last October.  
In Afar province, nearly 380,000 people have been reached in this current round of food distributions.  

TONGA 
In Tonga, following today’s earthquake, the UN Resident Coordinator in the Pacific, Sanaka Samarasinha, reported that all UN staff are safe. 
The UN team in Tonga continues to work on issues such as food security, telecommunications, health and water, as well as supporting the clean-up efforts underway. 
The UN is providing psycho-social support to women, children and people with disabilities, among others. Our colleagues tell us that the level of trauma and continuing fear remains acute. 
The UN is also working on logistics, including in safely transporting cargo, and helping deploy satellite terminals to improve connectivity while the undersea cable continues to be repaired. 
The UN is also working with the Government on testing the safety of food and water and ensuring that proper COVID-19 protocols are observed during the response. 

MOZAMBIQUE 
From Mozambique, the UN Children’s Fund today said that it is deploying staff and preparing medical and nutrition supplies, water, sanitation and hygiene kits.  It is also setting up temporary learning spaces to support children and families impacted by Tropical Storm Ana, which made landfall on central and northern Mozambique on January 24th. According to UNICEF, more than 45,000 people, including 23,000 women and children, are likely to need humanitarian assistance in the aftermath of the storm.  
The agency also warned that, that Mozambique is in its rainy season, the situation could deteriorate quickly if another tropical depression or cyclone brings additional rains to already full rivers and dams. 

SYRIA 
The Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, briefed the Council yesterday afternoon and said that despite continued violence and suffering, it is clear that a strategic stalemate exists there. There have been no shifts in front-lines for nearly two years, he noted, adding that it is clear that no existing actor or group of actors can determine the trajectory or outcome of this conflict and that the military solution remains an illusion.  
There will be a briefing on Syria’s humanitarian situation this afternoon at 3 pm.

FINANCE FOR NATURE 
The UN Environment Programme, along with some partners, today released a report which says that G20 countries need to invest $285 billion every year by 2050 in nature-based solutions to address the climate, biodiversity, and land degradation crises. However, the report found that the current G20 spending is only $120 billion per year. 
The report, entitled ‘State of Finance for Nature in the G20’ also reveals that only 2 per cent of the G20’s $120 billion investment was directed towards official development assistance. Similarly, private sector investments remain small, at just 11 per cent or $14 billion per year. 
 
HUNGER HOTSPOTS REPORT  
The Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Programme, released the Hunger Hotspots report. The report warns that acute food insecurity is likely to deteriorate further in 20 countries or situations - called the hunger hotspots – during the period from February to May of this year. 
Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen remain at the highest level from the previous edition of the report. In their last available assessments, these countries all had parts of their populations identified or projected to experience starvation or death, requiring the most urgent attention.  
Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Honduras, the Sudan and the Syrian Arab Republic remain countries of particular concern.   
The agencies also note that Afghanistan is projected to face a record number of people in critical food insecurity.  There is a serious risk that parts of the population will face starvation or death if the crisis is not contained.  
 
HONOUR ROLL 
Cuba and Kuwait have paid their dues in full, bringing the honor roll to 31.