HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
THURSDAY, 10 FEBRUARY 2022
SECRETARY-GENERAL/ GENERAL ASSEMBLY
This morning, the Secretary-General, António Guterres, spoke at a General Assembly’s thematic consultation follow-up to his “Our Common Agenda’ report. In his remarks, he noted that when he presented the Common Agenda in September, he said that the world faced a stark choice between a breakdown scenario of growing tensions, environmental degradation, climate chaos and instability, and a breakthrough towards a safer, more peaceful future.
The Secretary-General pointed out that developments since then served to reinforce the dangers of breakdown. He said that we are on a precipice, but we have the power to pull back from the brink and it is not too late to make the right decisions, particularly for those who are being left behind.
The Secretary-General stressed that the preeminent agreement on which we need urgent action is the 2030
Agenda, and with only eight years to go until 2030, and with COVID-19 driving us further off track, we must do everything in our power to rescue the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement.
For the follow-up to the common agenda report, the Secretary-General will establish a High-Level Advisory Board. This will help us to identify global public goods and potentially other areas of common interest where governance improvements are most needed. The Board will propose options on how this could be achieved, to be considered by Member States at the Summit of the Future.
The Secretary-General announced that Former President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and former Prime Minister of Sweden, Stefan Löfven, have accepted his invitation to co-lead this Advisory Board.
ETHIOPIA
On Ethiopia, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) say that fighting in the northern region of Afar continues to prevent the delivery of aid into neighbouring Tigray. These clashes are also causing large-scale displacement and increasing humanitarian needs in Afar.
The delivery of humanitarian supplies by road into Tigray, where over 5 million people are in need of food and other assistance, remains suspended. Humanitarian operations are significantly reduced or suspended, due to a lack of fuel, cash and aid supplies.
In the past week, an international aid agency delivered more than 14 metric tons of medicines into Tigray. While this life-saving assistance by air is welcome, it is far from what is required.
The second phase of a measles vaccination campaign in Tigray has wrapped up, reaching nearly 600,000 children.
In some areas, health workers reported walking up to 35 kilometres to provide vaccination services due to fuel shortages.
Limited food distribution continues in Tigray. Since mid-October, only 880,000 people have received food – this is the number of people that should be reached every week.
Within Afar, fighting has displaced hundreds of thousands of people, and they urgently need food and access to health care. However, we have limited access to these areas due to continuing insecurity.
In the parts of Afar that we can reach, nearly 85,000 people have received food assistance in the past week, bringing the number of people reached with food aid since mid-October to over 500,000.
In the neighbouring Amhara region, more than one million people received food assistance in the past week.
MADAGASCAR
On Madagascar, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that, following the passage of tropical cyclone Batsirai, emergency response teams are deploying to the hardest-hit areas, in support of the Government-led response. Additional staff from the UN and NGOs have landed in Madagascar to support relief efforts, thanks to the European Union, which has facilitated the necessary humanitarian air bridge.
In addition to hot meal distributions by the World Food Programme (WFP) and protection activities by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), health partners have sent essential medicine, emergency health and first aid kits, mosquito nets, and COVID-19 prevention materials to the areas affected by the cyclone.
They have also set up emergency medical posts at the temporary accommodation sites for displaced people.
Water, sanitation and hygiene partners, including UNICEF, have delivered kits to affected areas, and shelter partners are procuring rehabilitation kits for households, health facilities and schools.
Communication with communities affected by the crisis is being strengthened, including through the mobilization of volunteers and community partners.
MYANMAR
On Myanmar, the UN team on the ground today said that they continue to be concerned over the state of freedom of expression in the country. This comes after a clampdown on independent media outlets following the military takeover on February 1st of last year.
According to the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in the past year, at least 146 journalists have been arrested, while some 52 journalists, including 12 women, remain under detention as of yesterday. At least 3 reporters are known to have died in detention.
The UN team in Myanmar urges the military to release all people detained arbitrarily, including journalists. Freedom of expression and freedom of the press are cornerstones of democracy and are fundamental human rights underpinning all civil liberties. They must be protected.
LEBANON
Today, the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Joanna Wronecka, visited southern Lebanon, including Sidon, Bissariye, Sarafand and Amraa. She met with the Directorate of General Security, visited shelters and spoke to Lebanese and refugee families supported by the UN and its partners.
She said that, during her visit, she spoke with many families who shared their difficulties to provide for their loved ones and their overall desire to live in dignity.
She noted that many families are relying on the assistance provided by the United Nations to cope during this harsh winter. The Special Coordinator reiterated the importance of safeguarding stability and social cohesion in Lebanon despite the severe socio-economic crisis and the UN's strong commitment to leaving no one behind.
HORN OF AFRICA
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today warned that the Horn of Africa is experiencing one of its most severe La Niña-induced droughts in recent history and that we have a brief window to save lives and livelihoods before communities across the Horn of Africa experience the worst effects.
The current drought follows three back-to-back poor rainy seasons. Between 12 and 14 million people now face high levels of acute food insecurity and severe water shortages across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia.
In these three countries, 5.5 million children are expected to be acutely malnourished this year, more than 1.6 million of them severely acutely malnourished.
Families are taking desperate measures to survive, with hundreds of thousands of people leaving their homes in search of food, water and pasture. This is increasing the risk of inter-communal conflict and piling pressure on already limited basic services. Some 271,000 people have been displaced by the drought in Somalia alone.
There are devastating consequences for women and children, including the heightened risk of gender-based violence, sexual exploitation and abuse and the disruption of children's access to education.
Together with partners, the UN is scaling up the response, providing treatment for acute malnutrition, as well as food, water and other support.
More resources are urgently required to avert a large-scale loss of life in the Horn of Africa in the period ahead. We also need to build the resilience of communities against future shocks.
Humanitarian partners have appealed for more than $4.4 billion for life-saving assistance and protection for more than 29 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia in 2022, and call on donors to fund these appeals for an immediate response.
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
The U.N Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) organized a workshop to promote the participation of women in political and electoral processes.
The workshop, which was organized in collaboration with the Central African Women's Organization (OFCA), and the Network of Women Leaders and the National Electoral Authority (ANE), brought together 20 women at the Bouar Women's House, in the Nana Mambere prefecture.
The workshop took place ahead of local elections scheduled in September this year and enabled women participants to strengthen their knowledge of the conduct of the electoral process.
ENVIRONMENT
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) today said that more than 32 games studios have now joined its Playing for the Planet Alliance, planting over one million trees and engaging 130 million gamers on themes relating to the environment, according to the Alliance’s latest annual report.
According to the report, 60 per cent of the Alliance members have committed to be net zero or carbon negative by 2030 with further work on targets set for this year.
In addition to the progress inside the Alliance, the work has inspired major labels in the music industry to launch their own Music Climate Pact in December last year. It also saw data on the amount of energy that mobile devices use in game play, updating numbers from 10 years ago so that studios can more accurately calculate their carbon footprint. More information on UNEP’s website.
WORLD PULSES DAY
Today is World Pulses Day. The theme this year is “Pulses to empower youth in achieving sustainable agrifood systems”.
Pulses, otherwise known as legumes, are the edible seeds of leguminous plants cultivated for food.
The aim of the Day is to raise public awareness about pulses and the fundamental role they play in the transformation to more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.
