Noon briefing of 18 July 2023

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC

SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES

TUESDAY, 18 JULY 2023

Today is Nelson Mandela International Day.
In his message for the Day, the Secretary-General reminds us that Nelson Mandela was a leader of immense achievement and extraordinary humanity.
As we commemorate his life and legacy, the Secretary-General calls on all of us to take action to build a better world.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE 
This morning, the Secretary-General spoke to Security Council members at the debate on artificial intelligence. 
He said he was both shocked and impressed by generative AI, adding that it will clearly have an impact on every day areas of our lives, including the three pillars of the United Nations. The Secretary-General urged Council members to approach this technology with a sense of urgency, a global lens, and a learner’s mindset because what we have seen is just the beginning.  
The Secretary-General also underscored that Generative AI has enormous potential for good and evil at scale and that without action to address the risks it poses, “we are derelict in our responsibilities for the present and future generations.” 
He welcomed the calls from some Member States for the creation of a new UN entity to support collective efforts to govern this extraordinary technology, inspired by such models as the International Atomic Energy Agency, ICAO [International Civil Aviation Organization], or the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
The Secretary-General also said that he’s convening a multistakeholder High-Level Advisory Body for Artificial Intelligence that will report back on the options for global AI governance by the end of the year. 

DSG
Today, the Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, and the World Food Programme Executive Director, Cindy McCain, visited the Farchana refugee camp in eastern Chad, which has taken in people fleeing fighting in neighboring Sudan.
The Deputy Secretary-General said she was inspired by the courage of refugees she met at the Farchana camp, many of whom were women and children. Sudanese refugees have been warmly welcomed in Chad, she said.
She said that she also heard stories of unimaginable suffering in Sudan and enormous needs in Chad. More international support is needed for refugees and their host communities, she said.

SUDAN
Staying on Sudan, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says conflict there continues to displace civilians at an alarming rate.
In just the last week, nearly 200,000 people were displaced by the fighting inside Sudan, according to new figures released by the IOM [International Organization for Migration]. Since the start of the conflict, the International Organization for Migration says that more than 2.6 million people in Sudan have been internally displaced.
Meanwhile, more than 730,000 people have fled across Sudan’s borders to neighbouring countries since April 15^th. That is according to the UNHCR.
The humanitarian community in Sudan continues to provide relief to those fleeing the fighting.
In North Darfur, the UN Chilrden’s Agency and partners are supporting water trucking to gathering sites for internally displaced people, as well as health care facilities. They have also constructed more than two dozen latrines.
WHO, meanwhile, is working closely with Sudan’s Ministry of Health and other partners in states sheltering internally displaced people to provide essential, reproductive, sexual, maternal and pediatric care.
Yesterday, the UN Population Fund and its partners managed to deliver life-saving supplies, including 3,000 reproductive health kits, to six hospitals in Khartoum state. UNFPA is committed to reaching all women and girls in need in Sudan with urgent health and protection services.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is, once again, sounding the alarm on the situation in the province of Ituri, in the east, which is experiencing a significant escalation of violence.
In the past week, at least 40 civilians were killed in a span of three days in attacks by armed groups near the city of Bunia. In Ituri this year, more than 600 civilians have been killed, while 345,000 people have been displaced.
We strongly condemn this violence and call on all parties to adhere to international humanitarian law and human rights responsibilities.
To respond to the urgent needs of people impacted by the violence, our humanitarian partners have scaled up their operations. We and our partners have supported 460,000 people in Ituri in the first quarter of this year.
The current humanitarian response plan for the DRC is only 30 per cent funded. We urge the international community to stand in solidarity with the people of the DRC and provide the support needed to address this spiraling humanitarian crisis.

FSO SAFER
Our efforts to remove oil from the FSO Safer vessel off the coast of Yemen are picking up steam.
We can confirm that the Nautica, which is now known as the Yemen, which is the replacement vessel to which the millions of oil barrels from the decaying tanker will be transferred, is only 3 km from the Safer. The Nautica is making final preparations to moor next to the Safer, with ship-to-ship transfer of oil expected at the end of the week.
Another vessel, the Ndeavour, is already alongside to help with the transfer. And we hope to have Achim Steiner [Head of UNDP] and David Gressly [UN Resident and Humanitarian coordinator in Yemen] brief you soon on that.

UKRAINE
The Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, Denise Brown, today condemned an attack that damaged the Ukrainian port of Odesa overnight, just hours after the termination of the Black Sea Initiative. Ms. Brown said that civilian infrastructure, which is key for food security globally, appears to have been targeted, reminding that civilians and civilian infrastructure are protected under international humanitarian law.
Our humanitarian colleagues note that regrettably, attacks and hostilities continue to take a heavy toll on civilians in Ukraine.
They are destroying lives and livelihoods and leaving nearly half of the people who remain in the country – some 18 million people – in need of humanitarian assistance.

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
The UN team in Trinidad and Tobago has welcomed the Government’s decision to include refugee and migrant children in the national school system at the primary school level in the new academic year.
According to the UNHCR, there are more than 4,000 children, between the ages of five and 17, among the asylum seekers and refugees registered in the country.
The UN team there is committed to working with the Government of Trinidad and Tobago on the next phase of its approach to including refugees and migrants in the national school system to ensure that all children in the country receive quality education.

VACCINATION
According to data published today by WHO and the UN Children’s Fund, in 2022, 20.5 million children missed out on one or more vaccines delivered through routine immunization services. That is compared to 24.4 million in 2021.
In spite of this improvement, the number remains higher than the 18.4 million children who missed out in 2019, before the pandemic-related disruptions and vaccine distribution.
WHO and UNICEF noted that the early stages of recovery in global immunization have not occurred equally, with the improvement concentrated in a few countries. Progress in well-resourced countries with large infant populations, such as India and Indonesia, masks slower recovery or even continued declines in most low-income countries, especially for measles vaccination.

GENDER PARITY
UN Women and the UN Development Programme today jointly launched a report which says that less than 1 per cent of women and girls live in a country with high women’s empowerment and gender parity. Based on analysis in 114 countries, the report found that women’s power and freedom to make choices and seize opportunities remain largely restricted and globally, women achieve only 60 per cent of their full potential. This empowerment deficit and disparities are harmful, not just to women’s well-being and advancement but also to human progress, according to the report.

GUESTS TOMORROW
Tomorrow, the guests at the noon briefing will be the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Li Junhua, who will be joined by Jutta Urpilainen, the European Union Commissioner for International Partnerships, and Paolo Gentiloni, the European Union Commissioner for Economy.
They will brief reporters on the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.

FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION
Iraq has paid its dues to the UN Regular budget.