HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
THURSDAY, 12 JANUARY 2023
NOON BRIEFING GUESTS
The Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) will launch the World Social Report 2023. At 3:45 pm there will be a hybrid press briefing by the Deputy Press Secretary, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Yukiko Okano.
And tomorrow, guests will speak about the upcoming UN Water Conference, which will be co-hosted by the governments of the Netherlands and Tajikistan and will take place from 22-24 March. The speakers will include Li Junhua, the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs and the Secretary-General of the Conference; Henk Ovink, the Special Envoy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands for Water; and Sulton Rahimzoda, the Special Envoy of the President of Tajikistan for Water.
HAITI
Thirteen years ago today, a devastating earthquake claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in Haiti, including 102 colleagues.
In a Tweet this morning, the Secretary-General reiterated that they will not be forgotten.
From Haiti, the UN team reaffirmed the commitment to work alongside Haitian people to help them build a better and sustainable future, based on a return to security and democracy.
RULE OF LAW
The Secretary-General spoke this morning in the Security Council meeting and said that from the smallest village to the global stage, the rule of law is all that stands between peace and stability, and a brutal struggle for power and resources. Yet he said that the international situation shows that we still have far to go. We are at grave risk of the Rule of Lawlessness, he warned.
Regarding Ukraine, the Secretary-General said that any annexation of a State’s territory by another State resulting from the threat or use of force is a violation of the Charter and international law.
He added that unconstitutional changes in governments – coups d’état – are regrettably back in fashion. They are particularly worrying in places that are already enduring conflict, terrorism and food insecurity, namely in the Sahel.
And on Afghanistan, he said that unprecedented, systemic attacks on women’s and girls’ rights and the flouting of international obligations are creating a gender-based apartheid in the country.
GROUP OF 77 AND CHINA
This afternoon, at 3 pm, the Secretary-General is scheduled to deliver remarks at the handover ceremony of the Chairmanship of the Group of 77 and China.
He will thank Pakistan for its stewardship of the Group and will welcome Cuba, as it assumes the Chairmanship for 2023.
In his remarks, he will highlight several areas of collaboration between the UN secretariat and the G77. He will also reiterate that throughout this work, the Group’s engagement will be critical to him, the United Nations, and hundreds of millions of people living throughout the developing world.
SPECIAL TRIBUNAL FOR LEBANON
The Secretary-General has extended the mandate of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon from 1 March 2023 until 31 December 2023, for the limited purpose of the completion of non-judicial residual functions of the Special Tribunal and for the orderly closure of the Special Tribunal.
Mandated to conduct the trials of those accused of carrying out the attacks of 14 February 2005 in Beirut that killed 22 people, and the former Prime Minister of Lebanon, Rafik Hariri, and injured 226 other people. The work of the Special Tribunal based near The Hague in the Netherlands is coming to its end.
Following a complex investigation and a trial in absentia, the Special Tribunal acquitted Assad Hassan Sabra and convicted Salim Jamil Ayyash, Hassan Habib Merhi, and Hussein Hassan Oneissi for their roles in the attack, sentencing them to five concurrent life sentences, imprisonment, the heaviest sentence possible under the Tribunal’s Statute.
A completion plan, developed and agreed between the United Nations and the Government of Lebanon, will guide the Special Tribunal during this mandate period to ensure the completion of the Tribunal’s residual functions, including the preservation of the records and archives of the Special Tribunal, responding to requests for information, and ensuring the protection and support of victims and witnesses who cooperated with the Special Tribunal. The Secretary-General commends the work of all the judges, senior officials and staff who have worked tirelessly and diligently over the years to implement the Special Tribunal’s mandate, and calls upon Member States to continue to support the Special Tribunal in 2023 to ensure that its residual functions can be completed and its legacy can be ensured.
COLOMBIA
Yesterday afternoon, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Colombia, Carlos Ruiz Massieu, briefed the Security Council.
He said that the Secretary-General welcomed the Government of Colombia’s recent actions to move forward in some of the areas of the Peace Agreement and he praised steps taken in the last few months regarding comprehensive rural reform.
He stressed that the constructive dialogue between the parties, as well as between the Government and civil society, is of the essence and added that this year will be key to advancing outstanding legislation to implement the Agreement.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
The Peacekeeping Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – MONUSCO – report that the situation in Ituri’s Djugu territory remains tense after the recent spate of attacks by members of the CODECO armed group. At least 27 civilians have been killed there since the weekend.
In support of the Congolese army, UN peacekeepers continue to conduct patrols in the Roe-Drodo area to protect civilians. This morning, they responded to an exchange of fire between the Congolese army and CODECO in the village of Djodjo. Members of the armed group fled into the forest. Similarly, UN peacekeepers and the Congolese forces on patrol yesterday averted another attack by CODECO. They also escorted back a number of civilians to the site of displaced people in Roe.
SOUTH SUDAN
Turning to South Sudan, the humanitarian colleagues say they are very concerned about the recent escalation in the conflict in Jonglei and Pibor areas. Thousands of people have been displaced by the violence, which includes cattle raiding and the destruction of homes.
The UN’s humanitarian partners are helping 17,000 newly displaced people in Pibor town by providing supplies such as food and blankets. The humanitarian community also stresses the importance of protecting civilians and civilian assets and having safe and unhindered access to people in need.
Earlier this week, the Humanitarian Coordinator ad interim, Peter van der Auweraert, and the Government’s Relief and Rehabilitation Commission, led a mission to Pibor town to try to get clarity on the situation and support the response efforts.
BURUNDI
The humanitarian colleagues in Burundi say the current outbreak of cholera there is the most concerning the country has faced in several years.
In the past ten days, there have been 73 cholera cases, one death reported in the provinces of Bujumbura and Cibitoke. Burundi’s Ministry of Health declared a cholera epidemic on 1 January.
The Ministry is managing the response, with support from World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN’s Children Fund (UNICEF), as well as NGOs and the Burundi Red Cross.
The response includes medical services and assistance to increase access to clean water, hygiene and sanitation facilities to prevent the spread of cholera among communities at high risk.
The current main challenges are the limited availability of response, rapid screening tests, insufficient beds in cholera treatment centres, water, sanitation and hygiene issues.
ACUTE MALNUTRITION
Five UN agencies – the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO)- called for urgent action to protect the most vulnerable children in the 15 countries hardest hit by an unprecedented food and nutrition crisis. In these countries, more than 30 million children suffer from wasting – or acute malnutrition – and 8 million of these children are severely wasted, that’s the deadliest form of undernutrition.
The agencies say that key health, nutrition and other life-saving services are becoming less accessible. In response, they are calling for accelerated progress on the Global Action Plan on Child Wasting. It aims to prevent, detect and treat acute malnutrition among children in these worst impacted countries, which include Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Haiti, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen.
All of these agencies urge for greater investment in support of a coordinated UN response that will meet the unprecedented needs of this growing crisis, before it is too late.
THE INTERNATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY AGENCY
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is holding its Thirteenth Assembly this week from 14-15 January 2023.
The Assembly brings together more than 1,500 Heads of State, Ministers and energy decision-makers from multilateral organisations, global stakeholders and private actors to take stock of progress and chart an action agenda to accelerate the global energy transition.
