HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
WEDNESDAY, 19 MAY 2021
SECURITY COUNCIL
This morning, the Secretary-General spoke at the Security Council virtual Open Debate on Peace and Security in Africa.
One year into the COVID-19 pandemic, he said, it is clear that the crisis is feeding many drivers of conflict and instability. But, he added, recovery from the pandemic offers an opportunity to address the root causes of conflict, put prevention at the forefront of our efforts, and implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as well as the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
African governments themselves, he said, have shown great commitment to fight the pandemic by establishing an Africa Taskforce for a unified continent-wide approach.
However, limited supply and access to vaccines, as well as insufficient support for the pandemic response, are delaying the recovery.
The Secretary-General renewed his call for an equitable and sustainable vaccine roll-out worldwide. He also reiterated his appeal for measures to alleviate the debt burden that threatens to cripple the recovery in many low- and middle-income developing countries, particularly in Africa.
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
In a Flash Appeal, the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), said today that it urgently seeks $38 million to respond to the immediate needs and to carry out essential emergency interventions in Gaza. UNRWA said that activities cover an initial 30-day emergency response, from the start of the escalation on 10 May, and will support up to 50,000 individuals seeking safety in 50 designated emergency shelters.
Regarding funding, Mark Lowcock, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, said that the UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator on the ground, Lynn Hastings, hopes to release $14 million from the Humanitarian Fund for the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The Emergency Relief Coordinator called upon donors to accelerate their contributions to the Fund without delay.
He added that the crossings with Gaza need to be opened for the entrance of essential and humanitarian supplies, including fuel and basic services and supplies to help curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
From his part, Secretary-General said that we are seeing immense human suffering and extensive damage to homes and vital infrastructure in Gaza. He called on the international community to ensure adequate funding for our humanitarian operations in Gaza.
As a reminder, the Secretary-General will address the General Assembly tomorrow in a special session on the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
MALI
In a joint communiqué, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), the African Union, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) took note of the decision by the President of the Transition, Bah N’Daw, to reappoint Prime Minister Moctar Ouane to his functions. They met as members of the local committee to monitor the transition and initiated consultations to facilitate the successful conclusion of the transition.
They reiterated their strong support for the leaders of the transition and encouraged them to persevere in their efforts to ensure a transition that is as inclusive as possible, balanced and based on respect for the principles of good governance. The Committee also underlined the need to respect the agreed transition timetable.
The Committee members also reiterated their appeal to all stakeholders to spare no effort to meet the challenges facing Mali, and to place the interests of Mali and its people above all other considerations.
NIGER
In Niger, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that, in the western region of Tillabery, more than 10,000 men, women and children have fled their homes since last Friday. This follows violent attacks by non-state armed groups in the Anzourou district, near the border with Mali.
The registration of displaced people and the provision of food, education, water and sanitation hygiene is ongoing.
In recent months, those regions of Tillabery and Tahoua, along the borders with Mali and Burkina Faso, have experienced escalating cross-border attacks.
The number of internally displaced persons in Tillabery has nearly doubled over the past year-and-a-half: from 57,000 in December 2019, to 102,000 in May this year.
Across Niger, 2.3 million people are likely to be severely food insecure during this year’s lean season because of insecurity, drought and floods.
About 3.8 million people need humanitarian assistance in the country. Aid agencies seek $523 million to help the most vulnerable 2.1 million of them. So far, only 7 per cent of the required funding has been received.
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
In the Central African Republic, the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today warned that nearly half of the population – 47 per cent – suffers from high and surging food insecurity. WFP and FAO said that in past months, conflict and COVID-19 were some of the factors aggravating food insecurity in the country. But the agencies also warn of a difficult lean season ahead.
The UN agencies say that more than 2.2 million people – most of them living in rural areas – will face severe levels of food insecurity between April and August and need urgent support.
FAO and WFP are appealing for funding, but they are also concerned that insecurity will continue blocking much needed assistance from reaching those in need. The agencies call for unhindered access to populations who rely on humanitarian assistance to survive.
SYRIA
The Secretary-General’s third report on Children and Armed Conflict in Syrian is out today. It shows that more than 2,700 children were killed or maimed between July 2018 and June 2020, by airstrikes, explosive remnants of war and indiscriminate ground shelling of civilian-populated areas. Meanwhile, more than 1,400 children were recruited or used by at least 25 parties to the conflict.
The report covers a two-year period that witnessed the outbreak of the pandemic and the imposition of related restrictions as of March 2020. The actual number of grave violations is therefore believed to be higher than the 4,724 that are verified in the report.
The report also highlights the emerging trend of transnational recruitment, in which children were recruited and trained in Syria before being trafficked to Libya to participate in hostilities by armed groups.
LEBANON
The International Support Group for Lebanon, which includes the UN and other international partners, met in Beirut today to take stock of the situation in the country. In a statement issued afterward, the group’s members lamented the ongoing political stalemate in the government formation process. The International Support Group once more called on Lebanon’s leaders to set aside their differences in the national interest and to delay no further the formation of a fully empowered government capable of meeting the country’s urgent needs and implementing long overdue reforms.
The International Support Group has also called for elections to take place on time in order to preserve Lebanon’s democracy in the context of the ongoing crisis. It urged all relevant Lebanese authorities to initiate timely preparations in accordance with the electoral calendar.
MYANMAR
In Myanmar, the UN team on the ground is still gravely concerned over rising levels of displacement since the military takeover of the Government on February 1st.
Since then, as you know, there has been widespread violence against civilians across the country. Clashes between the Myanmar Armed Forces and ethnic armed organizations in border areas has intensified.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Myanmar says that as of last week, approximately 60,700 women, children and men have been internally displaced. More than 1,700 refugees have crossed into Thailand in March and April, most of whom subsequently returned to Myanmar, and an estimated 4,000 to 6,000 have sought safety in India.
The UN team in Myanmar called on all countries across the region to offer refuge and protection to all people seeking safety, while humanitarian workers should be granted access to help them.
Our colleagues again call on the military to refrain from violence and the use of disproportionate use, including the use of live ammunition.
BELARUS
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, today announced the appointment of three high-level experts to the UN Human Rights Office’s fact-finding mission on Belarus. They will assist the High Commissioner in conducting a comprehensive examination of alleged human rights violations committed in Belarus since 1 May 2020, including the possible gender dimension of such violations.
COVID-19/BANGLADESH
In Bangladesh, the UN team there, led by our Resident Coordinator Mia Seppo, is helping to address the multiple impacts of the pandemic.
We have stepped up our efforts in the areas of risk communications, community engagement and supplying oxygen.
Since last June, our team has trained more than 1,400 local community health workers. We also have helped to visit more than 2.2 million households and screened 280,000 people for COVID-19. Our colleagues are also distributing locally-produced masks.
The UN team brought together hundreds of people from the government, private sector, civil society and others to design, implement and monitor a collective plan of action to respond to the pandemic. Through this approach, more than 50 million people have been engaged in spreading messages on how to prevent the spread of the virus. Also, half a million Muslim leaders helped to disseminate messages in nearly 240,000 mosques around Bangladesh.
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL
Yesterday afternoon at an Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) virtual meeting, the Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed discussed with Member States her report on the Development Coordination Office and the Resident Coordinator System, in her role as chair of the UN Sustainable Development Group.
Ninety-two per cent of surveyed governments in the report said that independent Resident Coordinators have ensured a coherent UN response to the pandemic. The report also flags results of UN teams’ emergency mode support to authorities, leading to more than 260 million children globally receiving UN-backed support for distance learning and over 36 million people receiving critical water and sanitation supplies. UN teams also supported 120 million people, half of them women, to access social protection schemes.
GLOBAL TRADE UPDATE
A report released today by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) shows that world trade recovery from the COVID-19 crisis hit a record high in the first quarter of 2021, increasing by 10% year-over-year and 4% quarter-over-quarter. According to the Global Trade Update, trade in goods during the first quarter of 2021 was higher than the pre-pandemic level, but trade in services remained substantially below average.
The report notes that the impressive rebound continued to be driven by the strong export performance of East Asian economies, whose early success in pandemic mitigation allowed them to rebound faster and to capitalize on booming global demand for COVID-19 related products.
The Global Trade Update pointed out that trade will continue growing in 2021, with the overall forecast indicating an increase of about 16% from the lowest point of 2020.
PROTECTED AREAS
A report released today by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and its partners says that while countries have made progress towards the global target on the number of protected areas, it is falling short on commitment on the quality of these areas.
Today, 16.6 per cent of all and inland water ecosystems and 7.7 per cent of coastal waters and the ocean are within documented protected and conserved areas. This puts countries on track to exceed the 17 per cent target set by countries ten years ago. However, UNEP said that just designating these areas is insufficient and stressed that they need to be effectively managed and equitably governed to realize their many benefits.
The report also calls for existing protected and conserved areas to be identified and recognized, by accounting for the efforts of indigenous peoples, local communities and private entities, while recognizing their rights and responsibilities.
NOON BRIEFING GUESTS TOMORROW
Tomorrow, the guests at the noon briefing will be Elliot Harris, the UN’s Chief Economist, along with Nazrul Islam, the Lead Author of the World Social Report 2021, which is produced by our colleagues in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
