SECRETARY-GENERAL
As we had announced to you, I think last week, following his visit to Portugal, the Secretary-General is now heading to Suriname. He will be in the country from 2 July to 4 July, on a trip that, as he did in Lisbon, will focus on the environment and biodiversity and how they are impacted by climate change.
The Secretary-General is scheduled to fly over a rainforest region in Suriname and visit an indigenous community, to learn more about harnessing indigenous knowledge to help adapt to the climate impacts. He will also underscore the importance of nature-based climate solutions during a visit to a coastal mangrove programme site, where he will witness Suriname coastline’s susceptibility to flooding, which has been heightened by sea level rise and extreme weather events resulting from the current climate crisis.
On Sunday, the Secretary-General will address the opening ceremony of the Caribbean Community, of CARICOM’s 43rd Regular Meeting. He is expected to stress that the Caribbean is ground zero for the global climate emergency and the need to gather around bold solutions.
In Suriname, the Secretary-General is also scheduled to hold a meeting with President Santokhi, the President of the Republic of Suriname and we’ll keep you posted on all those declarations during the weekend
ROAD SAFETY
This morning, the Secretary-General spoke at the High-Level meeting of the General Assembly on Improving Road Safety.
He said that road accidents are a silent moving epidemic, with 1.3 million people dying on the road and 50 million getting seriously injured every year. Today, road accidents are the leading cause of death in the world among young people aged 5 to 29, and nine out of ten victims live in middle-income or low-income countries.
He added that this is unacceptable and called on countries to take urgent action to reduce the biggest threats to road safety such as speeding; driving under the influence of alcohol or any psychoactive substance or drug; failure to use seatbelts, helmets and child restraints; unsafe road infrastructure and unsafe vehicles.
POOLED FUNDS
This morning, the Secretary-General also spoke by pre-recorded video message at a virtual event on pooled funds. He said that today, over 300 million people in the world are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance and protection – a fact that he called “a grim record.”
The Secretary-General noted that the UN is working on reaching the vulnerable, and this takes financial resources. He stressed the importance of the Central Emergency Response Fund and the Country-Based Pooled Funds, noting they are fast, flexible, impartial and independent. Those remarks are online.
Also speaking was Martin Griffiths, our Emergency Relief Coordinator who said that we have reached more than 50 million people in the last year, with the pooled funds having supported people’s health, food security, water and sanitation, hygiene and protection.
UKRAINE/HUMANITARIAN
Turning to Ukraine, our Humanitarian Coordinator in the country, Osnat Lubrani, today called on the parties to the conflict to decisively and urgently facilitate safe and unimpeded access for aid workers in all regions, cities, towns and villages, where people need help. She also stressed the need to allow civilians to leave these areas if they want to.
She expressed regret that the UN and our partners in Ukraine have been prevented from doing more because of insecurity and impediments imposed by the parties.
Ms. Lubrani stressed that aid workers cannot deliver supplies to, or access Kherson, and that only very limited assistance arrived in Mariupol. She said that access to non-Government-controlled areas is extremely difficult, if not impossible.
Despite tremendous challenges, we, along with our partners, have provided life-saving assistance to nearly 9 million men, women and children in every single region of Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24th. This is in addition to the incredible work by thousands and thousands of volunteers across the country to support their own people.
However, humanitarian needs continue to grow as hostilities intensify in different regions, particularly in eastern Donbas.
UKRAINE/HUMAN RIGHTS
Also on Ukraine, our Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has a new report documenting violations – including killings, torture and disappearances – all against civilians and others during the first three months of the war.
The Mission has received numerous allegations and was able to verify 23 cases of conflict-related sexual violence and that number is most likely an underreported.
LIBYA
Stephanie Williams, the Special Adviser for Libya, issued a statement today on the meetings during the previous two days of the presidents of the House of Representatives and the High Council of State. Those meetings took place in Geneva.
She said that the two chambers reached unprecedented consensus on a number of long-standing issues. However, she added, despite the progress in this week’s negotiations between the heads of the respective chambers, disagreement persists on the eligibility requirements for the candidates in the first presidential elections.
Ms. Williams urged the two chambers to overcome the pending disagreement as soon as possible. She also continues to urge all parties in Libya against taking any precipitous action and emphasizes that calm and stability must be maintained.
She will now compose a full report on the proceedings and present her recommendations on alternative ways forward to the Secretary-General.
IRAN
As you may have seen, Rosemary DiCarlo, head of Political Affairs and Peacebuilding Affairs, briefed the Security Council this morning on diplomatic engagement with Iran and on the restoration of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
She said that achieving the landmark JCPOA took determined diplomacy. Restoring it will take additional effort and patience. She said that she and the Secretary-General urge the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States to quickly mobilize in this same spirit and commitment to resume cooperation under the JCPOA.
She expressed the hope that Iran and the United States will continue to build on the momentum of the last few days of talks, facilitated by the European Union in Doha, to resolve outstanding issues.
SYRIA
Geir Pedersen, the Special Envoy for Syria, briefed the Security Council late yesterday afternoon. In his remarks, he reiterated the importance of the three-pronged framework of Resolution 2585, which as you well know are cross-line, cross-border, and early recovery. With humanitarian needs growing and civilians in desperate need, he said, it is essential for the Security Council to renew this framework for an additional twelve months.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
Quick update from the field from our colleagues in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Today, the UN mission there closed its offices in Kalemie, in the Tanganyika province. This is a major step forward in the progressive, phased, drawdown of the Mission. The decision recognizes significant steps taken by Congolese authorities, with the support of the United Nations, to strengthen the presence and capacity of state institutions in the area. The Mission and the UN country team will continue to support the Government in pursuing key reforms to preserve and consolidate the progress made in this regard. Meanwhile, the situation in the eastern part of the country remains tense as the M23 armed group have continued to target the Congolese army, as well as the UN’s own position in North Kivu province.
This morning, three rockets were fired towards the Mission’s position in Kabindi– which is about 12km southeast of Rutshuru. Two of the rockets landed close to our peacekeepers’ position.
You will recall that in her briefing to the Security Council yesterday, Bintou Keita, the Head of the UN Mission in DRC, condemned attacks by the M23 and called for their unconditional disarmament.
AFGHANISTAN
Quick update from Afghanistan, where the UN Refugee Agency and the UN Development Programme signed an agreement to provide $1 million for housing and infrastructure in Khost and Paktika Province.
The programme will provide assistance to families impacted by the earthquake there. It will help improve access to sustainable housing, solar lighting, and key infrastructure like water systems, roads and bridges damaged by last week’s earthquake.
UNHCR and UNDP are working together in Afghanistan as part of the UN’s overall humanitarian response.
MALAYSIA
In Malaysia, our team there, led by Resident Coordinator Karima El Korri, continues to support the Government in tackling the impacts of the pandemic. To date, 83 per cent, that’s more than 27 million Malaysians, have been fully vaccinated and more than half have received a booster. The World Health Organization contributed to the increasing of laboratory capacity and supported the government in risk communication, community engagement and behavioural research. The UN Refugee Agency is working to provide booster doses to refugees while UNICEF is working on providing mental health services and psychosocial support. For its part, the International Organization of Migration is supporting vaccination campaigns for refugees and migrants while facilitating access to health and hygiene kits.
CLIMATE
Also, I was asked by one of your colleagues earlier about a reaction to the ruling by the US Supreme Court regarding the climate and the Environmental Protection Agency and while it is not the UN’s role to provide legal commentary on judicial decisions of individual Member States, just more generally, I can say that this is a setback in our fight against climate change, when we are already far off-track in meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement. The Secretary-General has said repeatedly that the G20 must lead the way in dramatically stepping up climate action.
Decisions like today’s in the US or any other major emitting economy make it harder to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, for a healthy, liveable planet, especially as we need to accelerate the phase out of coal and the transition to renewable energies.
But we also need to remember that an emergency as global in nature as climate change requires a global response, and the actions of a single nation should not and cannot make or break whether we reach our climate objectives. The Secretary-General has also said there is still time to avert the worst impacts of climate change, if all nations – especially those who make up the G20 - step up their efforts, together with cities, regions, businesses and investors, and individuals everywhere raising their voices for bolder climate action.
INTERNATIONAL DAYS
Today is International Day of Parliamentarism, and this year’s theme is public engagement in the work of parliament. And don’t look up but today is also International Asteroid Day. Thank you. The Day aims to raise public awareness about the asteroid impact hazard and to inform the public about the crisis communication actions to be taken at the global level in case of a credible near-Earth object threat. As if we needed yet another thing to worry about.
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION
We finish up the briefing on good news, contributions to the regular budget continue to grow. We now have 109 members, thanks to our friends in a country whose capital is Gitega.
This landlocked country does not have a coastline but that doesn’t stop it from having a lovely Saga Beach. The beach is on the shore of Lake Tanganyika. What country are we talking about? You can do better than that. It’s Burundi. We very much thank our friends in Burundi.
