HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ,
DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
THURSDAY, 17 NOVEMBER 2022
COP27
The Secretary-General has arrived in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, from Bali, and he spoke to the press, alongside COP27 President Sameh Shoukry. He said that we are at crunch time in the negotiations, and there is clearly a breakdown in trust between North and South, and between developed and emerging economies.
The Secretary-General warned that the blame game is a recipe for mutually assured destruction. He called on all parties to stand and deliver the kind of meaningful climate action that people and planet so desperately need.
Mr. Guterres appealed to the parties to act in three critical areas: by finding an ambitious and credible agreement on loss and damage and financial support to developing countries; by forcefully addressing the huge emissions gap and pushing for a Climate Solidarity Pact, and by acting on the crucial question of finance.
BLACK SEA GRAIN INITIATIVE
In a statement issued today, the Secretary-General has welcomed the agreement by all parties to continue the Black Sea Grain Initiative to facilitate the safe navigation of export of grain, foodstuffs and fertilizers from Ukraine. He said that the United Nations is fully committed to supporting the Joint Coordination Centre so that this vital supply line continues to function smoothly.
The Secretary-General added that the United Nations is also fully committed to removing the remaining obstacles to exporting food and fertilizers from the Russian Federation. Both agreements signed in Istanbul four months ago are essential to bring down the prices of food and fertilizer and avoid a global food crisis.
The Secretary-General stressed that the Black Sea Grain Initiative continues to demonstrate the importance of discreet diplomacy in the context of finding multilateral solutions.
UKRAINE/SECURITY COUNCIL
Yesterday afternoon, the Security Council held a meeting on Ukraine. Briefing Council members, the Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, noted that in the past few days, Ukrainians have been subjected to some of the most intense bombardments of the nine-month-old war, and that the impact of such attacks can only worsen during the coming winter months.
Ms. DiCarlo again stressed that attacks targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure are prohibited under international humanitarian law. She said that there is only one way to stop the death, destruction and division - the war must end, and it must end in line with international law and the UN Charter, as called for by the UN General Assembly.
UKRAINE
The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today said that more than 25 per cent of people in Ukraine involved in agriculture have either stopped their activities or reduced their output due to the war. The situation is particularly bad in the most traditional agricultural regions of Ukraine, especially in the north and south.
FAO noted that farmers in many parts of Ukraine have been prevented from cultivating or harvesting. They cannot access their land due to mine-contamination or intense hostilities.
According to FAO’s assessment, the income of more than half of Ukrainian rural residents has plummeted over the past months. There is also limited assistance to rural areas of Ukraine.
FAO pointed out that rural families are being forced into negative coping strategies such as reducing expenses on health. Some farmers said that they have been forced to sell productive assets or reduce production because they could not afford the necessary inputs, such as fertilizers or animal feed.
On the humanitarian response side, aid organizations have helped almost 10 million people so far this year with food, and supported thousands of farmers with livestock, seeds and other agricultural inputs.
WORLD PHILOSOPHY DAY
Today is World Philosophy Day, and this year’s theme is ‘The Human of the Future’.
In a message, Audrey Azoulay, the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), notes that philosophy is not only a thousand-year-old science, nourished by traditions from all over the world - it is a living exercise in questioning and conceiving the world, not only as it is, but also as it could or should be.
On this Day, Ms. Azoulay says, UNESCO calls upon all of our societies to take a moment to step back and think collectively about the future of humanity, and to conceive of a better world.
***The guests at the Noon Briefing were Johannes Cullmann, UN-Water Vice Chair, and Ann Thomas, Team Leader of the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Division for the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). They spoke to reporter about the World Toilet Day, which is marked on 19 November.
