HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
THURSDAY, 26 MAY 2022
UN PEACEKEEPER DAY
This morning, the Secretary-General laid a wreath at the Peacekeepers Memorial to pay homage to the more than 4,200 peacekeepers who sacrificed their lives while serving under the UN flag. He then took part in the Dag Hammarskjöld medal ceremony to honour the 117 women and men who lost their lives last year while serving as peacekeepers.
He said the International Day of Peacekeepers is an opportunity to honour the women and men on the front lines advancing peace around the world.
Our peacekeepers face great and growing challenges, the Secretary-General said. They face increasing political tensions and deteriorating security situations, as well as ever-more complex threats, from terrorist attacks to organized crime to Improvised Explosive Devices
They also face a surge in disinformation that spreads hatred and fuels violence.
Despite these risks, our peacekeepers press on, Mr. Guterres said. They adapt to rapidly evolving situations on the ground, and they constantly innovate to protect the most vulnerable – while representing our diverse global community.
The Secretary-General posthumously awarded the Captain Mbaye Diagne medal for exceptional courage to Captain Abdelrazakh Hamit Bahar, from Chad. And he presented the Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award to Major Winnet Zharare of Zimbabwe.
AFRICA DIALOGUE
This morning, the Secretary-General also spoke at the opening of the high-level segment of the Africa Dialogue, held on the theme of nutrition and food security.
He welcomed the launch by the African Union of 2022 as the Year of Nutrition.
For too long, he said, nutrition, food security, conflicts, climate change, ecosystems and health have been treated as separate issues. But they are deeply interconnected. They are systemic and getting worse, the Secretary-General said.
UN humanitarian operations are doing their utmost to help, he added, but humanitarian aid cannot compete with the systemic drivers of hunger.
Official Development Assistance is more necessary than ever, Mr. Guterres said, and urged all countries to demonstrate solidarity, invest in resilience, and prevent the current crisis from escalating further.
MIDDLE EAST
Tor Wennesland, the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, told the Security Council today there has been a familiar pattern of daily violence in recent weeks, including armed clashes, settlement expansion, evictions, demolitions and seizures of Palestinian structures, as well as a deadly terrorist attack in Israel.
In Gaza, he said, efforts by the United Nations and international partners to improve Palestinian lives and measures by Israel to ease pressure and facilitate more economic activity have enabled the fragile ceasefire to continue. Keeping the calm, however, is neither enough nor sustainable – more needs to be done to alleviate the humanitarian crisis and lift Israeli closures.
Regarding planned evictions in Masafer Yatta, Mr. Wennesland said he was deeply concerned by the potential implications of the Israeli High Court’s ruling and the humanitarian toll on the communities in question if evictions orders are carried out. He calls on Israeli authorities to end the displacement and eviction of Palestinians, in line with Israel’s obligations under international humanitarian law, and to approve plans that would enable Palestinians to build legally and address their development needs.
SECURITY COUNCIL
This morning, the Security Council met on Iraq, Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan.
At 3:00 p.m. this afternoon, Rosemary DiCarlo, the Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, will brief Council members in an open meeting on Libya.
The Council will also discuss the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
YEMEN
The Government of Yemen and Ansar Allah started the negotiations under UN auspices yesterday in Amman, Jordan, to agree on opening roads in Taiz and other governorates.
UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg called on the parties to negotiate in good faith to urgently reach an agreement that facilitates freedom of movement and improved conditions for civilians.
As part of the truce, the parties have also made important progress towards resuming commercial flights to and from Sana’a airport. More than 1,000 passengers have traveled so far, and the frequency of flights is increasing.
As the current truce agreement approaches the end of its two-month period on 2 June, the UN Special Envoy is actively engaging with the parties to renew the truce. He said that we have seen the tangible benefits the truce has delivered so far for the daily lives of Yemenis. The parties need to renew the truce to extend and consolidate these benefits to the people of Yemen who have suffered over seven years of war, he added.
AFRICAN UNION
The African Union Extraordinary Humanitarian Summit and Pledging conference begins tomorrow in Malabo in Equatorial Guinea.
The Secretary-General will be represented by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths.
Mr. Griffiths spoke at side events today: one is an event on the Secretary-General’s Action Agenda on Internal Displacement, and the other is on Climate Change and Humanitarian Action: Responding to growing needs in Africa.
Mr. Griffiths highlighted that more than 27 million people were internally displaced in Africa in 2021 due to conflict, violence and disasters. This is the highest figure ever recorded for the region and almost half of the global internal displacement figure.
He also presented the Secretary-General’s Action Agenda that was developed last year, which lays out how the UN intends to address internal displacement more effectively. Between 2019 and 2022, the number of people who needed humanitarian assistance in countries in Africa increased from 77 million to 130 million people. In that same time frame, the number of people targeted for humanitarian assistance also surged from 56 million to 87 million men, women and children.
Since 2019, financing needs have risen from $12 billion to $15 billion, but only over half of this among if received every year.
Also in Malabo, the African Union will hold its Extraordinary Summit on Terrorism and Unconstitutional Changes in Africa. The Secretary-General will be represented there by Vladimir Voronkov, the Under Secretary General for Counter-Terrorism.
NIGER
In Niger, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today warned that the situation remains tense in the Tillaberi region along the border with Burkina Faso following clashes. Since May 1st, 51 civilians have been killed.
More than 34,000 men, women and children have fled their homes in Niger’s border areas with Burkina Faso and Mali due to fighting since the beginning of this year.
We and our partners are working to increase our access to these areas, with food security likely to worsen.
The Humanitarian Response Plan for 2022, which seeks $552 million to support 2.3 million people – including more than half a million displaced people – is only 11.3 per cent funded. More funding is urgently needed.
UKRAINE
I was asked yesterday about Ramesh Rajasingham’s statement in the Security Council, which was characterised by some as warning of a possibility of a nuclear war in Ukraine.
Mr. Rajasingham did not warn against a specific threat of nuclear conflict. Mr. Rajasingham echoed a concern raised already in March by the UN, following public statements making reference to nuclear weapons.
***The guest at the Noon Briefing was the Head of Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix.
