CLIMATE CHANGE REPORT
The pandemic-related economic slowdown failed to put a brake on climate change drivers and accelerating impacts, according to a new report compiled by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and an extensive network of partners.
It says 2020 was one of the three warmest years on record, despite a cooling La Niña event. The global average temperature was about 1.2° Celsius above the pre-industrial (1850-1900) level. The six years since 2015 have been the warmest on record. The decade of 2011-2020 was the warmest decade on record.
The report notes the negative trend in climate will continue for the coming decades independent of our success in mitigation and says it is therefore important to invest in adaptation.
The report illustrates how climate change poses a risk to the achievement of many of the Sustainable Development Goals, through a cascading chain of interrelated events. These can contribute to reinforcing or worsening existing inequalities. In addition, there is the potential for feedback loops which threaten to perpetuate the vicious cycle of climate change.
The Secretary-General, together with WMO’s Secretary-General Petteri Taalas, spoke to the press at the report’s launch.
ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES
In a statement, the Secretary-General expressed his deep solidarity with the people and Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines following the eruptions of the La Soufrière volcano.
This crisis comes at the most difficult time, as the world is grappling with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and ahead of the hurricane season.
The Secretary-General commends the local response efforts underway and reiterates the full support of the United Nations.
The United Nations has released $1 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to assist the emergency response and stands ready to provide additional help.
Also, the UN Resident Coordinator for Barbados and Eastern Caribbean, Didier Trebucq, has arrived during the weekend to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, along with the representatives from the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and World Food Programme (WFP). Together with local authorities, they visited several sites hosting families who were forced to evacuate following the eruption of the La Soufrière volcano 10 days ago.
There are some 15,000 people who were evacuated and need immediate assistance. Many others are still having to leave their houses, with ashes covering entire villages and some roofs having already collapsed. In a tweet, the UN Resident Coordinator said that there are threats of new eruptions with many sights of desolation.
Tomorrow, at 11 a.m., Mr. Trebucq and the Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, will have a press encounter to launch an appeal to boost UN’s support for the immediate humanitarian needs of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The appeal also aims to support the crucial recovery efforts which need to begin immediately, supporting women, men and women to get back on their feet. The press encounter will be live on webtv.un.org.
SECURITY COUNCIL
Speaking at the Security Council this morning, the Secretary-General said that strengthening the United Nations’ partnerships with regional and subregional organizations is an integral part of his vision for a networked multilateralism.
Our world’s current and future challenges, including those exposed and heightened by COVID-19, can only be addressed through ambitious and coordinated multilateral action, he added.
Turning to the situation in Myanmar, the Secretary-General said he has repeatedly called on the international community to work, collectively and through bilateral channels, to help bring an end to the violence and the repression by the military.
The UN’s cooperation with ASEAN in this regard is vital, he added. The situation requires a robust international response grounded on a unified regional effort.
The Secretary-General urged regional actors to leverage their influence to prevent further deterioration and, ultimately, find a peaceful way out of this catastrophe.
INDIGNEOUS ISSUES FORUM
This afternoon, the Secretary-General will address, via a video message, the 20th Session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
He will highlight the need to include indigenous peoples in decision-making processes so their specific needs are not overlooked or ignored. The Secretary-General will also stress that respect for the rights indigenous peoples means ensuring equal and meaningful participation, full inclusion and empowerment and that as we work to recover from the pandemic, we must prioritize inclusion and sustainable development that protects and benefits all people.
SYRIA
The Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria, Imran Riza, expressed deep sadness over the tragic deaths of two Syrian aid workers, who were killed in an armed attack in south-east rural Deir Ezzour. Unknown attackers reportedly shot and killed the workers as they were returning from a humanitarian assistance project on Saturday.
Mr. Riza condemned this cowardly attack in the strongest possible terms and called for the protection of all aid workers. Humanitarians in Syria and elsewhere risk their lives to assist people in desperate need. Their safety and security must be assured at all times, he said.
NIGERIA
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that the UN has temporarily suspended its aid work and relocated staff following the recent attacks on humanitarian operations in Dikwa and Damasak, in Nigeria’s Borno State.
Nearly 9,000 internally displaced people and 76,000 people in the host community will be impacted.
The Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Edward Kallon, said the UN will resume operations as soon as possible so that civilians affected by the conflict continue to receive the assistance they need.
At least five NGO offices and several NGO vehicles, a mobile storage unit, water tanks, a health outpost and a nutrition stabilization centre were damaged on 10 and 11 April in Damasak. More clashes were reported on 13 and 14 April.
Mr. Kallon has strongly condemned attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure which may constitute violations on International Humanitarian Law.
The UN is closely monitoring the situation.
CENTRAL AMERICA
The World Food Programme Executive Director (WFP), David Beasley, recently visited Honduras, Guatemala and Haiti and renewed the agency’s commitment to working with vulnerable communities there, offering them sustainable livelihoods and food security in their villages, giving them reasons to stay at home and reducing migration.
Hunger in Central America has quadrupled over the past two years, with 8 million people now hungry. Of this figure, 1.7 million people are in the ‘Emergency’ category of food insecurity meaning they require urgent food assistance.
The rise in hunger has coincided with a doubling in the number of people planning to migrate. A WFP assessment conducted in January saw at least 15 per cent of people surveyed wanting to migrate as compared to only eight percent in 2018.
It costs the US close to US$4000 per person, per week to support migrant teenagers and children at the border while it costs WFP between $1 and $2 per person, per week to support people in Central America through our resilience projects.
COVAX
COVAX-vaccines have reached Cameroon, Panama and Ukraine, while Argentina, the State of Palestine and Peru have received their second shipment. El Salvador received its third shipment.
UNICEF received its second consignment of nearly 30,000 doses for the Gaza strip and more than 43,000 for the West Bank earlier today. More doses are on the way.
Ukraine received its first allotment of 117,000 doses on Friday. These will primarily be used for staff and residents of nursing homes, as well as employees of the State Emergency Service and border guards. UNICEF also delivered some 140,000 syringes and more than 1,300 safety boxes for their disposal, also under COVAX.
Cameroon received nearly 400,000 doses on Saturday to support the vaccination campaign already under way. The COVAX shipments will target 20 percent of the total population, focusing on vulnerable groups. The World Health Organization and UNICEF are working with authorities to train health personnel on logistics and supported a campaign on how crucial it is for everyone to get vaccinated.
According to the Pan-American Health Organization, yesterday, El Salvador has received its third batch of more than 96,000 doses, while Peru and Argentina received their second shipments of nearly 280,000 doses and more than 860,000, respectively. On Friday, 36,000 doses arrived in Panama.
