HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
FRIDAY, 30 SEPTEMBER 2022
YEMEN
Over the past six months, the Government of Yemen and the Houthis have taken important and bold steps towards peace by agreeing to, and twice renewing, a nationwide truce negotiated by the United Nations. With the 2 October deadline for another extension quickly approaching, the Secretary-General strongly urges the Yemeni parties not only to renew but also to expand the truce’s terms and duration, in line with the proposal presented by the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy, Hans Grundberg.
The truce, which first came into effect on 2 April 2022, has brought the longest period of relative calm to Yemen since the beginning of the war.
Over the past six months, it has delivered tangible benefits and much needed relief to the Yemeni people, including a significant reduction in violence and civilian casualties country-wide, an increase in fuel deliveries through Hudaydah port, and the resumption of international commercial flights to and from Sana’a airport for the first time in almost six years.
Yet more needs to be done to achieve its full implementation, including reaching an agreement on the reopening of roads in Taiz and other governorates and the payment of civil service salaries, would further improve the day-to-day life of ordinary Yemenis. In parallel, work on long-term political, economic and military issues, as proposed by his Special Envoy, would signal a significant shift towards finding lasting solutions.
The Secretary-General strongly urges the parties to seize this opportunity. This is the moment to build on the gains achieved and embark on a path towards the resumption of an inclusive and comprehensive political process to reach a negotiated settlement to end the conflict. The United Nations will spare no efforts to support the parties in this endeavour.
This is a time for all leaders to prioritize the needs and aspirations of the Yemeni people and act in the national interest of Yemen. This is the time to choose peace for good.
AFGHANISTAN
The Secretary-General strongly condemns today’s heinous attack on an educational center in the Dasht-e-Barchi area of Kabul City - a predominately Hazara Shia area - which caused scores of casualties, mostly women. He extends his condolences to the families of the victims and wishes a speedy recovery to those injured.
Education is a fundamental right and an essential driver for sustainable peace and development.
The Secretary-General reiterates his call on all parties to ensure the protection of civilians. He also calls on the de facto authorities to protect the rights of all Afghans - regardless of ethnicity or gender - to access education safely and securely.
There were also statements of condemnations from the UN Mission in Afghanistan and UNICEF. And just to give you some context, our colleagues in Kabul say that young women from Hazara Shia community reportedly make up, more than 60 of them killed or injured were from the Hazara Shia community today.
The Mission stressed that those responsible must face justice, and that the Taliban must fulfil obligations to ensure safety for all Afghans. Education must be prejudice and violence-free.
UKRAINE
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that an attack left scores of civilians killed and injured in the outskirts of Zaporizhzhia, in the south of the country. The event took place earlier in the morning, when civilians lining up to cross to areas under Russian control were hit by shelling, according to humanitarian colleagues on the ground.
Most of the people were apparently trying to bring supplies to their families or communities, or to reunite with loved ones before the announcement was made today on the annexation by the Russian Federation. Unfortunately, this is only one of a number of attacks that killed or injured civilians in several parts of Ukraine today.
The Humanitarian Coordinator, Denise Brown, who heads the UN system, issued a statement condemning the attack. We, of course, send our most heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and wish those injured a speedy recovery.
SECURITY COUNCIL/UKRAINE
This afternoon, at 3:00 p.m., there will be a Security Council meeting on Ukraine.
Navid Hanif, the Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, will brief Council members.
BLACK SEA GRAIN INITIATIVE
The World Food Programme say that the motor vessel Ikaria Angel, which departed Ukraine carrying 30,000 metric tons of wheat on 17 September, is expected to arrive in Djibouti today. The cargo will be used for WFP’s operations in Ethiopia and 5,000 tons of it will be used in Djibouti itself.
This was the third WFP-chartered vessel. A fourth one, the bulk carrier Vanessa, is carrying 30,000 metric tons of wheat destined for Afghanistan, that will travel there via Türkiye, where it’s going to be processed. And a fifth WFP vessel, the New Island, was inspected on 29 September in the sea of Marmara and will continue now on its voyage to Ukraine to load 30,000 metric tons of wheat. This time that will be destined for Somalia.
WFP has so far procured 200,000 tons of wheat from Ukraine since the signing of the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
The UN Agency notes that getting Ukrainian grain into WFP’s humanitarian operations will ensure benefits to both Ukraine’s economy and to areas of the world hardest hit by the global food crisis.
The Joint Coordination Centre in Istanbul, which the UN set up, says that as of today, 241 vessels left Ukrainian ports carrying almost 5.5 million metric tons of grains and other foodstuffs under the Initiative.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
Bintou Keita, the Special Representative of the Secretary-Genral for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, briefed the Council.
Her remarks were shared with you and she will come to the stakeout to answer questions.
Staying in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Humanitarian Coordinator, Bruno Lemarquis, called today for urgent action to stop the escalating violence in the provinces of Mai-Ndombe and Kwilu, in the West of the country.
An upsurge of violence that started late June in Kwamouth territory in the province of Maï-Ndombe has now spread to the neighbouring province of Kwilu. Dozens of people were killed and hundreds of homes were burned during the violence.
According to the authorities, more than 35,000 people have been displaced to several localities in these provinces, as well as to the neighbouring provinces of Kwango and Kinshasa. More than 1,400 people also crossed the Congo River to seek refuge in the neighboring Republic of Congo.
We and our humanitarian partners have provided basic assistance, such as health care and water, hygiene and sanitation, but important humanitarian needs remain.
The Humanitarian Coordinator called for urgent additional emergency response measures and for authorities and those working in humanitarian, peace and development areas to take measures to ease the tensions.
SECRETARY-GENERAL/ETHIOPIA
The Secretary-General is deeply concerned over reports of indiscriminate shelling and civilian casualties in the ongoing conflict in northern Ethiopia. He underlines that a sustainable peace cannot be found through military action.
The Secretary-General further notes that the continuation of the conflict jeopardizes the safety of civilians, the delivery of much-needed humanitarian assistance and the stability of the broader Horn of Africa region. He reiterates his call for an immediate cessation of hostilities, the disengagement of the regional countries from the conflict, and for the parties to move forward with the African Union-led mediation process as a sign of urgency.
In the northern parts of the country, the situation remains unpredictable and fluid, with hostilities continuing to drive more people from their homes. Hundreds of thousands of men, women and children have been displaced in parts of Tigray, Afar and Amhara regions. It is affecting the lives and livelihoods of millions living in conflict areas.
Humanitarian convoy movements into Tigray from Afar continues to be suspended since August 24th, which is obviously cutting off life-saving supplies to millions of people in need. The Humanitarian Air Service flights to and from Tigray have also been suspended since August 25th, and that has halted our ability to rotate humanitarian workers in and out and the transport of key supplies, as well as cash, which is a critical component of our humanitarian operations.
Large parts of Tigray province, as well as several areas in Amhara and Afar regions, are now inaccessible due to the ongoing fighting. This is significantly disrupting our humanitarian operations, as well as access to people in need, including displaced people.
Humanitarian partners are, however, continuing to respond in areas they can access in the three regions, despite obviously, the many challenges they face as well as the stretched resources and capacities we have. In Tigray, the remaining stocks of humanitarian goods continue to be distributed. Between the 15th and 21st of September, more than 775,000 people were reached with food, but due to limited supplies, some 230,000 of these people received less than they would have received otherwise.
In Amhara and Afar, our partners are providing newly displaced people with food, water, emergency shelter and other supplies, as well as health services. In southern and north-eastern parts of Ethiopia, communities are continuing to suffer from a devastating drought following four consecutive failed rainy seasons. Our partners are now targeting about 17 million men, women and children for assistance for the rest of the year in those areas. Seventeen million.
We continue to call on the parties to the conflict to take constant care to spare civilians and civilian objects, including vital infrastructure. And, of course, yet again, we reiterate our call to immediately facilitate the resumption of rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian workers and supplies, so that we can help those people that need help in conflict areas, wherever they are, in accordance with international humanitarian law.
We appeal for urgent funding to support the response across Ethiopia. Our partners are reprogramming their response to address the most urgent needs and to sustain life-saving operations. At least an additional $1.8 billion, which is 60 per cent of the total amount needed, is still not with us.
BURKINA FASO
The Secretary-General is following with concern the situation in Burkina Faso, where there have been reports of gunfire and a strong military deployment in the capital Ouagadougou today. The United Nations calls for calm and the avoidance of further violence. Burkina Faso needs peace, it needs stability and it needs unity in order to fight terrorist groups and criminal networks operating in parts of the country. The United Nations stands in solidarity with the people of Burkina Faso and remains committed to the country's swift return to a constitutional order.
On the humanitarian front, the country continues to confront a multi-dimensional crisis as insecurity is growing. Nearly one fifth of the national population urgently needs humanitarian aid.
The number of security incidents increased by 220 per cent in 2022 compared to last year. The intensity of the conflict remains higher in Burkina Faso than in any other country in the Sahel region.
As of the end of August, one million people in Burkina Faso live in areas controlled by non-state armed groups.
Some 1.7 million people are displaced – that is one in 10 in the country. The country also faces one of the fastest growing displacement crises in the world in 2022. The other two are Mozambique and Ukraine.
YEMEN
We are pleased to report that additional contributions of $2 million for the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism have recently come in. This timely funding prevents a shutdown of the mechanism.
As you have heard us say before, this mechanism plays a critical role in facilitating the entry of commercial goods into Yemen’s Red Sea ports. With Yemenis relying on commercial imports for 90 per cent of its staple foods and basic goods, this funding extends an additional lifeline to millions of people in Yemen.
MALI
In Mali, the UN peacekeeping mission continues to support Malian authorities to bolster the capacity of its security forces to respond to threats, particularly in the Centre and North regions. The Mission has been supporting a training organized by the Ministry of Security and Civil Protection, which is responsible for the security of civil and judicial authorities throughout the country.
Thirty agents from the police, the gendarmerie and national guard acquired knowledge on intervention techniques, including combat and rescue, the detection of improvised explosive devices, which is very important in Mali, and the code of conduct, with an emphasis on respect for human rights.
A total of 150 members of the Malian security forces will be trained by 2023, and this is part of broader efforts to develop specialized skills in areas such as civilian protection, crisis coordination, policing, human resources management, ethics and professional conduct.
CENTRAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE FUND
Today, the Secretary-General has appointed eight new members of the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) Advisory Group.
The Advisory Group now has 20 members from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Gulf, the Latin America and Caribbean region, North America and Oceania.
The Group provides policy guidance and advice on the use of Central Emergency Response Fund to the Secretary-General through Martin Griffiths, his Emergency Relief Coordinator.
So far this year, the Fund has allocated $559 million to support humanitarian operations in 37 countries, including the crisis in Ukraine and addressing food insecurity in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel.
The full list is online.
INTERNATIONAL DAYS
Today is the International Translation Day, which is meant as an opportunity to pay tribute to the work of language professionals. They play an important role in bringing nations together, facilitating dialogue, understanding and cooperation, contributing to development and strengthening world peace and security. And we thank all our translators here at the UN, who play a critical part in our work.
Tomorrow is the International Day of Older Persons, and this year’s theme is Resilience of Older Persons in a Changing World.
And Sunday is the International Day of Non-Violence.
ITU
The International Telecommunication Union has elected Doreen Bogdan-Martin of the United States as its new Secretary-General. She is the first-ever woman to be elected as ITU Secretary-General in the organization’s 157-year history.
And we welcome her and congratulate her.
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION
China has paid its membership dues in full.
DEPARTURES
I just want to say goodbye to two people today, who are leaving for whatever reason, to see whatever exists outside of our world here.
First, your colleague Amanda Price of Al Jazeera, who has decided that she’s had enough of us. I don’t know if it was because I didn’t answer her questions or I didn’t answer them properly. I hope it wasn’t me.
We will of course, miss having her around – either at the stakeout or watching this briefing from the safety of her Al Jazeera suite on the 3rd floor. We will miss her professionalism, her dry sense of humour, and her all-around great personality.
We wish her luck in her next adventure. I hope she gets a break and tells us what happens outside.
The other person I want to say goodbye to is someone you don’t see often but who plays a critical role, and that is Brian Walshe from UNTV, who has been working here and has been covering 41 General Assemblies, but for some reason looks looks like he’s 19 years old. For some reason, he too has had enough after 41 years.
He is one of our unheralded colleagues who works hard to ensure that our visual output is always great and top quality. I know some of you are not always happy, but I can tell you that Brian and his colleagues are constantly trying to do more with less, often jerry-rigging the technology so it meets our needs.
On a personal note, Brian has been an invaluable help to me and has saved my rear end a number of times, especially when I was in the News and Media Division. And just to show you his inventiveness. Yesterday, he complained that the vibrations from my phone were disrupting the sound, so he sent over this little cushion today for my phone. So, always working. And most importantly, he’s a loyal Mets fan.
So, we wish him luck and congratulate him.
HYBRID BRIEFING MONDAY
On Monday, there will be a hybrid briefing by the President of the Security Council for the month of October, Ambassador Michel Xavier Biang of Gabon. He will brief on the Council’s programme of work.
