HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC​,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
WEDNESDAY, 27 OCTOBER 2021

 

SECRETARY-GENERAL/AFGHANISTAN 
This morning, the Secretary-General spoke by video message to the meeting on Afghanistan which was organized by the Islamic Republic of Iran. He warned that Afghanistan is confronting an epic humanitarian crisis and is on the verge of a development catastrophe.
The Secretary-General highlighted four areas of action. First is humanitarian relief, he said, stressing that international support to hosting countries must match the scale of their needs.   
Second, the Secretary-General said, we must find ways to avoid a total meltdown of the Afghan economy. Thirdly, he highlighted that the people of Afghanistan need an inclusive and representative government, that respects international humanitarian law and upholds human rights and fundamental freedoms.                                    
And fourth, the Secretary-General emphasized that Afghans and the region also need a country that is secure – not one that is a haven for terrorism or a centre for drug trafficking.  He stressed that these are all issues on which the region has a shared interest and on which all of us must speak with one voice. 

SECURITY COUNCIL 
The Security Council met this morning on the situation between Sudan and South Sudan.  Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, the Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, noted that the recent coup in Sudan reflects the shaky transitions that many countries are going through. He stressed, as the Secretary-General has, the importance of restoring the constitutional order in Sudan, consistent with the Sudanese people’s aspirations for democratic rule. 
Given the unfolding situation in Sudan, he added his hope that the recent positive trend between Sudan and South Sudan will not be derailed. Encouragingly, he said, Sudan and South Sudan have been so far deepening their relationship, epitomised by several high-level visits and initiatives in support of each other’s peace processes. 
Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Jean-Pierre Lacroix told the Council that it is encouraging that both South Sudan and Sudan have now established national committees on the question of Abyei, and the warming of their relations was visible in Abyei.  He said that it is too early to know what the impact of this week’s developments in Khartoum will mean for UNISFA on a day-to-day basis, but he noted that all parties in Sudan are, and have been, strong supporters of the Mission. 

ETHIOPIA 
In Ethiopia, nearly one year since the start of the conflict in the north, the situation remains unpredictable, volatile, and highly tense. The fighting has been reported in multiple locations, as well as in Amhara and Afar. Hostilities in both regions are blocking the delivery of humanitarian assistance to hundreds of thousands of people in need.
As mentioned yesterday, fuel for the humanitarian response has not entered Tigray since early August, forcing many humanitarian operations to significantly reduce or suspend their activities. Between 14 and 20 October, only about 38,000 people in Zata, in the Southern Zone, received food assistance due to lack of fuel. That’s only 4.4 per cent of the estimated 870,000 people requiring assistance every week. No food distribution was reported in other areas during the period due to fuel shortages, a communications blackout and the fluid security context in the region.                           
Provision of food, water trucking operations, and health services have also been significantly reduced.  
The UN continues to call on all parties to the conflict to urgently and immediately facilitate free, sustained and safe movement of humanitarian workers and supplies in Tigray, Afar and Amhara.   

SECURITY 
The latest report of the Secretary-General on the “Safety and Security of Humanitarian Personnel and Protection of United Nations Personnel” is out today.  
It analyses global security and security incidents involving UN personnel in 2020 and the first half of 2021. During that period, a total of 28 UN civilian personnel lost their lives owing to acts of violence and safety-related incidents.   
The Secretary-General says that heightened volatility pervades the global security environment with no sign of improvement likely for years to come. 
COVID has worsened existing global security challenges, the report highlights.  
The UN also saw a drastic increase in the number of abductions of its personnel, with 17 abducted in 2020 compared to six in 2019, a deeply worrying development.

COVID-19/EMPLOYMENT IMPACT 
The International Labour Organization (ILO) today warned that the employment impact from the COVID-19 pandemic is worse than expected.  ILO Monitor is now projecting that global hours worked in 2021 will be 4.3 per cent below pre-pandemic levels, the equivalent of 125 million full-time jobs.  This represents a dramatic revision of ILO’s June projection of 3.5 per cent or 100 million full-time jobs. 
ILO warns that without concrete financial and technical support, a great divergence in employment recovery trends between developed and developing countries will persist, and that this is largely driven by the major differences in the roll-out of vaccinations and fiscal stimulus packages. 
Estimates indicate that for each of 14 people fully vaccinated in the second quarter of 2021, one full-time equivalent job was added to the global labour market. 
However, ILO pointed out that the highly uneven roll-out of vaccinations means that the positive effect was largest in high-income countries, negligible in lower-middle-income countries and almost zero in low-income countries.

SENIOR PERSONNEL APPOINTMENT  
On Monday afternoon, the Secretary-General announced the appointment of Noeleen Heyzer of Singapore as his new Special Envoy on Myanmar.  Ms. Heyzer succeeds Christine Schraner Burgener of Switzerland, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for her dedicated service in support of the people of Myanmar.  
Ms. Heyzer was the first woman to serve as Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific - from 2007 to 2014.   In 2008-2009, she worked closely with ASEAN, the Government of Myanmar and the UN in recovery efforts following Cyclone Nargis; and she led a dialogue with Myanmar's leaders on development and poverty reduction.

WORLD DAY FOR AUDIOVISUAL HERITAGE 
Today is World Day for Audiovisual Heritage. The theme this year is "Your Window to the World". Audiovisual archives tell us stories about people’s lives and cultures from all over the world.