REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE
UN Geneva Press Briefing
I am super-excited to present and officially launch the Sustainability Week International, which I co-founded after the immense success of the Sustainability Week Switzerland. The Sustainability Week Switzerland is the largest student movement on sustainability in Switzerland and was co-founded by some friends and me in summer 2017 and has already been recognized internationally by the International Sustainable Campus Network Award for Excellence in Student Leadership, the Clinton Global Initiative University, as well as the Green Gown Award by the United Nations Environment Programme.
We believe in the power and potential of youth to create solutions to some of the most pressing challenges of our time.
Our vision, therefore, is to empower students to be drivers of meaningful, impactful and positive change who are able to bring sustainability into all aspects of higher education institutions globally and support them to become sustainability role models for our society overall. Higher education institutions are lighthouses for society and therefore have the obligation to lead the transformation towards a liveable future.
Our mission is to achieve this through local sustainability weeks which consist of educational and inspirational events within one week, the formulation and implementation of demands and an international network for support and cooperation. Students will be trained and equipped with the needed resources to develop the essential skill.
Our main principles are:
Inform to inspire: we inform and raise awareness through events to help people be inspired to take action and create solutions for a sustainable future. We bring sustainability topics into all aspects of higher education institutions and support them to become role models in research, teaching, governance and operation while embodying sustainability meaningfully as public institutions.
Empower to enable: we empower young adults to develop skills and co-organize a series of events to have a positive impact on our environment and society through institutional change and community-building. We enable and facilitate collaboration through connecting like-minded students, higher education institutions members and the public to reach higher impact.
Encourage to change: we encourage ourselves to challenge the way we think in order to change the world we live in. We stand for and identify with the priority model of sustainability. This model is consistent with the theory of the planetary boundaries.
It is an incredible honour to be selected and to showcase the Sustainability Week International on a global stage directly to decision makers and world leaders. This is a race we must win, and we can only win it together.
Together, we bring sustainability to our higher education institutions.
Together, we educate and inspire for sustainability.
Together, we contribute to a world with a future for all.”
Responding to questions from journalists, Ms. Graf said that, if they wished to empower young people in the fight for action on climate, world leaders should take them seriously by letting them participate fully in the work of decision-making bodies. To those leaders who were not yet convinced of the reality of climate change, she would say that they should listen to the scientists, whose message was that waiting was no longer an option: the world was in an existential crisis and action must be taken.
She added that, while she was not able this time able to emulate Greta Thunberg by sailing to New York for the Summit, she was learning to sail offshore and hoped to be ready to travel by water to the twenty-fifth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to be held in Santiago, Chile, in December 2019. In the meantime, and although it was not the best solution, the United Nations was carbon offsetting her flight to New York.
United Nations Climate Action Summit
Clare Nullis, for the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), said that the next week would be very important for climate action, with the scientific community coming together to speak with one voice at the Climate Action Summit, presenting scientific facts and figures that would underline the urgency of taking action. She made the following statement:
“The world’s leading climate science organizations have joined forces to produce a landmark new report for the United Nations Climate Action Summit. The Report was produced under the auspices of the Science Advisory Group, which is co-chaired by WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas. It is a synthesis of inputs from the World Meteorological Organization, the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment), the Global Carbon Project, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Future Earth, the Earth League and the Global Framework for Climate Services. It is complemented by longer, individual reports, presented as a package to a high-level science event on 22 September and to world leaders at the Climate Action Summit on 23 September.
The report was coordinated by the World Meteorological Organization and compiled under the auspices of the Science Advisory Group to the United Nations Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit. It aims to present a “transparent envelope” of authoritative and actionable cutting-edge science.
As part of this synthesis report, WMO has produced a report on the state of the global climate in 2015-2019. We will send out press releases and information under embargo.”
Ms. Nullis added that the large number of extreme weather events that had occurred in 2019 underlined the urgency of action. The United State National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had just issued its monthly report for August, which supported the findings of European institutions showing it to have been the second warmest month of August on record globally and making summer 2019 the hottest summer in the northern hemisphere ever.
In answer to questions from journalists, Ms. Nullis said that the current unusually warm weather in Geneva should not be used to judge the state of the climate. However, 2019 had seen exceptional heatwaves in Europe, making it the hottest northern summer on record, and that was symptomatic of climate change.
Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that information on the Climate Action Summit was available on the United Nations website and most of its proceedings, including those of the Youth Climate Summit, would be webcast on UNTV. She added that the United Nations Information Service in Geneva had been at the Rotonde du Mont-Blanc in Geneva on 14 and 15 September to promote the organization’s Act Now campaign, aimed at encouraging individuals to reduce their carbon footprint, at an event organized by the city of Geneva, with special guest Red, of the Angry Birds. It would also participate in a similar event at Balexert centre, Geneva, on Wednesday 18 September, to engage the public to take even small actions but that could be leading to big benefits for the environment. She also said that on 23 September, the Geneva jet d’eau would be turned green to mark the Climate Action Summit. The staff of the United Nations Office at Geneva had also expressed their support for the Secretary-General’s action; further information was available from the staff representatives.
Yemen
Hervé Verhoosel, for the World Food Programme (WFP), read the following statement:
“The UN World Food Programme is encouraged by the news from Mark Lowcock that fresh funds for the humanitarian response in Yemen will be paid soon.
WFP is facing a significant funding shortfall and without immediate contributions we will have to reduce food rations to millions of Yemenis from October.
We urgently need over US$600 million to cover our operation in Yemen and serve millions of people for the next six months.
We have a three-to-four month lead-time in Yemen to import and then transport enough food to feed the millions in Yemen who rely on WFP assistance. We need to have a constant flow of commodities coming into Yemen to ensure that each month we can get food to the most vulnerable. WFP’s average requirements are around US$200 million per month as we continue to scale up our operations to reach 12 million people each month.
From May through July, WFP reached more than 11 million people each month with food assistance. The August distribution cycle has just closed, and we will have final numbers for August in the next few days.
The humanitarian community cannot slow the pace of assistance now. The coordinated response of the entire humanitarian community has so far prevented catastrophe in Yemen, but if these interventions stop or are severely hampered the situation would immediately deteriorate.”
Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that on Monday 16 September, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, had told the Security Council that there was no time to waste before moving forward with purpose and resolve towards the political solution to end the conflict in Yemen.
Responding to questions from journalists, Mr. Verhoosel said that, if the needed funds were not forthcoming immediately, WFP had contingency plans to allow it to cope in the very short term, but the money had to be found quickly if the situation were not to deteriorate still further.
Ukraine: funding drive to raise US$52 million before winter sets in
Jens Laerke, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), made the following statement:
“The humanitarian community in Ukraine is urgently calling for US$52 million to prepare the response for the upcoming winter. Aid organizations warn that, with the start of winter in a couple of months' time, the need for humanitarian support is expected to rise as people's conditions will get even more severe than they are today. Winters in Ukraine frequently experience temperatures between 15 and 20 degrees Celsius below zero.
The funding drive comes as the United Nations-coordinated Humanitarian Response Plan for 2019, launched at the beginning of the year and requiring a total of $162 million, is less than a third funded, at 32 percent. The call-out to donors is to cover specific high-priority needs that the United Nations and partner non-governmental organizations in Ukraine have said "simply cannot go unmet". Winterization money is needed now to assist the most vulnerable on time, as it takes time to do tendering, procurement, delivery and so on of relief supplies.
Already today, the situation is critical for thousands of civilians in eastern Ukraine. Nearly 60 per cent of the families living within 5km of the “contact line” dividing Ukraine between Government-controlled and non-Government controlled areas, cannot access health care. A proportion of the funding sought will give 80,000 people access to health care through mobile medical teams or by giving them cash for transportation to health facilities. People may have to travel longer distances as more than 35 percent of the 600 primary health care facilities located along the “contact line” have sustained damage from the fighting.
Humanitarian organizations also need to winterize their shelter response in time. With additional funding, they can support 70,000 people near the contact line with winter protection, which includes repairs to damaged houses and shelters, but also support for heaters and heating material. To keep families warm, they need to be able to buy coal, as centralized heating systems have collapsed. It is also important to prevent food consumption levels going down. As the prices for food are expected to increase before winter, cash-based food assistance should be provided well in advance to allow people to stock the main commodities when prices are low.
People themselves are aware of the situation ahead and try to prepare the best they can. One elderly woman told our staff in Ukraine that “summer is usually a time when one should enjoy time outside, but for me, it is a time when I must start saving from my meagre pension, cutting my health and food expenses to be able to save up for coal for winter.” Millions in Ukraine start cutting their expenses early in summer to save resources for winter.
The largest individual portion of the extra funding required – nearly $16 million – is for protection. This sector is only a little more than 20 percent funded today. More resources are needed for mine risk education, victim assistance, marking of mined areas and demining before the areas get covered in snow. About 2 million people live in areas contaminated by landmines and other explosives. Ukraine is the third most mine-affected country in the world after Afghanistan and Syria.
Despite the challenges with access and limited funds, humanitarians are making a difference. Aid groups have provided relief and protection to some 650,000 people on both sides of the “contact line” in the first six months of 2019.”
Mr. Laerke added that, of the 32 per cent of the funding that had been given, the European Commission had provided nearly US$ 12 million, the Government of Germany US$ 10.6 million, the Central Emergency Response Fund was third in terms of the funding given and the United States of America fourth, having given US$ 4.5 million.
Appeal for Venezuela
In answer to journalists’ questions, Jens Laerke, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that, while the appeal to support the Venezuela Humanitarian Response Plan had as yet received only US$ 20 million of the US$ 223 million needed, every dollar was useful and helped the United Nations team there carry out its activities in the country. It was not possible to compare the response to that for other appeals and it was hoped that donors would give money out of recognition of the needs that existed, rather than simply because of affinities among countries.
Human Rights Council
Rolando Gomez, for the Human Rights Council, said that, at 10 a.m. that morning, 17 September, the reports of the Fact-finding Mission on Myanmar had been presented to the Council, followed by the concerned country statement and an interactive discussion. At 11.30 a.m., the Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic would present its report, which had been published the previous week. The presentation would include an oral update on the human rights situation in the country and would also be followed by the concerned country statement and an interactive discussion.
At 2 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon, the report of the Commission of Inquiry on Burundi, also published the previous week, would be presented, followed by the concerned country statement and an interactive discussion. The general debate on country situations would begin at 4 p.m. and continue the following morning, Wednesday 18 September. The Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples would then present a report addressing access to justice for indigenous peoples, to be followed at 4 p.m. by a panel discussion on the rights of indigenous peoples, focussing on the promotion and preservation of indigenous languages. It should also be noted that
Thursday 19 September was the deadline for submission of draft resolutions to be considered by the Council during the current session the following week.
Universal Postal Union Extraordinary Congress
David Dadge, for the Universal Postal Union (UPU), said that journalists were invited to cover the Universal Postal Union third Extraordinary Congress in Geneva, Switzerland, from 24 to 26 September on the matter of postal remuneration rates. UPU, which had been founded in 1874, had held only two extraordinary congresses previously, in 1900 and in 2018. The decision to hold the third Extraordinary Congress followed concerns raised by several member countries, including the United States of America, related to the remuneration system for bulky letters and small packets. Remuneration rates were the tariffs paid by the sending country to the receiving country for the delivery of its post. The delegation of the United States of America - which had said it would leave UPU if the current process was not changed – would be led by Mr. Peter Navarro, Director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy in the White House. The Congress would be attended by around 800 participants from over 100 countries.
Three possible solutions to the issue were up for discussion: to continue with the current approach but increase the pace of change; to adopt self-declared rates, whereby a country would set the rates it would charge other countries to deliver their mail to addresses within its borders; or a combination of the first two proposals. He emphasized that, given the huge importance of e-commerce in the world, the discussions could be considered as trade negotiations. A briefing on the Congress would be given on the morning of Tuesday 24 September and a press conference with the UPU Director General would be held the same day at 1 p.m.
In answer to questions from journalists, Mr. Dadge said that the issue of remuneration rates had long been recognized as a problem and that progress through the traditional route of the ordinary four-yearly congresses was taking too long. A solution needed to be found to ensure that tariffs were fair and reasonable for all concerned, including the less developed countries, which had traditionally paid less in postal remuneration rates. There were three groups of countries gathered around the proposals: one, including the United States, that was dissatisfied with the current situation; a second that agreed that the system should be changed, but was happy with the current speed of change; and a third that was trying to ensure the integrity of the postal network as a public good, which had been the reason for the foundation of UPU over a century previously.
UNCTAD announcements
Catherine Huissoud, for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), said that, as countries realized that it was not possible to find solutions alone to any of the crises – economic or environmental – affecting them, UNCTAD was promoting a global green new deal, to be presented in its Trade and Development Report 2019: Financing a Global Green New Deal. Related documentation was available, and a press conference would be held on Friday 20 September 2019 at 9:30 a.m. in Press Room 1 to introduce the report, which was under embargo until 25 September.
WHO announcements
Christian Lindmeier, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that WHO would hold a virtual press conference on Wednesday 18 September with Director General Tedros to launch the Universal Health Coverage Monitoring Report. Report was under embargo until 6 a.m. on 22 September.
WHO and the United Nations Children’s Fund would hold a joint press conference, which would also be webcast, at 10 a.m. on Thursday 19 September to present the latest estimates for maternal and child mortality, with updated figures and analyses on countries and regions.
World Patient Safety Day was being marked for the first time throughout the world with light displays on important buildings and monuments in 53 cities, including the three pyramids of Giza in Egypt, Kuala Lumpur tower in Malaysia and the jet d’eau in Geneva.
Attack on ACANU secretary
Answering questions from journalists Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that the reported incident earlier on Tuesday morning during which the secretary of the Association of the Accredited Correspondents to the United Nations (ACANU) would have been physically attacked by another correspondent would be investigated immediately and appropriate action taken.
Press conferences
Tuesday, 17 September 2019 at 12:00 p.m. in Room III
OHCHR
Sharing of the main findings of the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar and the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar.
Speakers:
* * *
The webcast for this briefing is available here: http://bit.ly/unog170919
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons for the Human Rights Council, the World Food Programme, the Universal Postal Union, the World Meteorological Organization, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the World Health Organization; the briefing also hosted the President of the Swiss Associations of Student Organizations for Sustainability.
United Nations Youth Climate Summit
Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, briefly recalled the Climate Action Summit of 23 September; she then introduced Marie-Claire Graf, President of the Swiss Associations of Student Organizations for Sustainability, who has been selected by the UN as the Swiss youth leader to participate in the Youth Climate Summit at Headquarters on 21 September, along with 100 other young climate champions from all over the world.
Ms Graf made the following statement:
“The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres is convening the 2019 Climate Action Summit to raise the global level of ambition to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and to galvanize action that can limit climate change to 2°C and even 1.5°C.
The Secretary-General is calling on all leaders to come to New York next Monday with concrete, realistic plans to enhance their nationally determined contributions by 2020, in line with reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 45 per cent over the next decade, and to net zero emissions by 2050.
Furthermore, 100 outstanding young climate champions from 100 different countries chosen from over 7,000 applications were awarded a ‘Green Ticket’ – a fully funded climate neutral opportunity to attend the first-ever United Nations Youth Climate Summit, which will happen next Saturday in the NY UN HQ. I have the great honour to be selected and represent Switzerland.
Both summits will serve as a platform for leaders – Member States, as well as finance, business, civil society and local leaders from public and private sectors – who are ready to:
- Mobilize and raise political ambition that will result in enhanced and irreversible commitments to action in national climate plans to significantly cut emissions; strengthen climate resilience; and making public and private finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development;
- Galvanize bottom-up action from cities, regions, civil society, but also the private sector;
- Contribute to the multi-stakeholder coalitions that will develop ambitious solutions in the action areas of the Summit: global transition to renewable energy; sustainable and resilient infrastructures and cities; sustainable agriculture and management of forests and oceans; resilience and adaptation to climate impacts; and alignment of public and private finance with a net zero economy.
I am super-excited to present and officially launch the Sustainability Week International, which I co-founded after the immense success of the Sustainability Week Switzerland. The Sustainability Week Switzerland is the largest student movement on sustainability in Switzerland and was co-founded by some friends and me in summer 2017 and has already been recognized internationally by the International Sustainable Campus Network Award for Excellence in Student Leadership, the Clinton Global Initiative University, as well as the Green Gown Award by the United Nations Environment Programme.
We believe in the power and potential of youth to create solutions to some of the most pressing challenges of our time.
Our vision, therefore, is to empower students to be drivers of meaningful, impactful and positive change who are able to bring sustainability into all aspects of higher education institutions globally and support them to become sustainability role models for our society overall. Higher education institutions are lighthouses for society and therefore have the obligation to lead the transformation towards a liveable future.
Our mission is to achieve this through local sustainability weeks which consist of educational and inspirational events within one week, the formulation and implementation of demands and an international network for support and cooperation. Students will be trained and equipped with the needed resources to develop the essential skill.
Our main principles are:
Inform to inspire: we inform and raise awareness through events to help people be inspired to take action and create solutions for a sustainable future. We bring sustainability topics into all aspects of higher education institutions and support them to become role models in research, teaching, governance and operation while embodying sustainability meaningfully as public institutions.
Empower to enable: we empower young adults to develop skills and co-organize a series of events to have a positive impact on our environment and society through institutional change and community-building. We enable and facilitate collaboration through connecting like-minded students, higher education institutions members and the public to reach higher impact.
Encourage to change: we encourage ourselves to challenge the way we think in order to change the world we live in. We stand for and identify with the priority model of sustainability. This model is consistent with the theory of the planetary boundaries.
It is an incredible honour to be selected and to showcase the Sustainability Week International on a global stage directly to decision makers and world leaders. This is a race we must win, and we can only win it together.
Together, we bring sustainability to our higher education institutions.
Together, we educate and inspire for sustainability.
Together, we contribute to a world with a future for all.”
Responding to questions from journalists, Ms. Graf said that, if they wished to empower young people in the fight for action on climate, world leaders should take them seriously by letting them participate fully in the work of decision-making bodies. To those leaders who were not yet convinced of the reality of climate change, she would say that they should listen to the scientists, whose message was that waiting was no longer an option: the world was in an existential crisis and action must be taken.
She added that, while she was not able this time able to emulate Greta Thunberg by sailing to New York for the Summit, she was learning to sail offshore and hoped to be ready to travel by water to the twenty-fifth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to be held in Santiago, Chile, in December 2019. In the meantime, and although it was not the best solution, the United Nations was carbon offsetting her flight to New York.
United Nations Climate Action Summit
Clare Nullis, for the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), said that the next week would be very important for climate action, with the scientific community coming together to speak with one voice at the Climate Action Summit, presenting scientific facts and figures that would underline the urgency of taking action. She made the following statement:
“The world’s leading climate science organizations have joined forces to produce a landmark new report for the United Nations Climate Action Summit. The Report was produced under the auspices of the Science Advisory Group, which is co-chaired by WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas. It is a synthesis of inputs from the World Meteorological Organization, the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment), the Global Carbon Project, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Future Earth, the Earth League and the Global Framework for Climate Services. It is complemented by longer, individual reports, presented as a package to a high-level science event on 22 September and to world leaders at the Climate Action Summit on 23 September.
The report was coordinated by the World Meteorological Organization and compiled under the auspices of the Science Advisory Group to the United Nations Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit. It aims to present a “transparent envelope” of authoritative and actionable cutting-edge science.
As part of this synthesis report, WMO has produced a report on the state of the global climate in 2015-2019. We will send out press releases and information under embargo.”
Ms. Nullis added that the large number of extreme weather events that had occurred in 2019 underlined the urgency of action. The United State National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had just issued its monthly report for August, which supported the findings of European institutions showing it to have been the second warmest month of August on record globally and making summer 2019 the hottest summer in the northern hemisphere ever.
In answer to questions from journalists, Ms. Nullis said that the current unusually warm weather in Geneva should not be used to judge the state of the climate. However, 2019 had seen exceptional heatwaves in Europe, making it the hottest northern summer on record, and that was symptomatic of climate change.
Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that information on the Climate Action Summit was available on the United Nations website and most of its proceedings, including those of the Youth Climate Summit, would be webcast on UNTV. She added that the United Nations Information Service in Geneva had been at the Rotonde du Mont-Blanc in Geneva on 14 and 15 September to promote the organization’s Act Now campaign, aimed at encouraging individuals to reduce their carbon footprint, at an event organized by the city of Geneva, with special guest Red, of the Angry Birds. It would also participate in a similar event at Balexert centre, Geneva, on Wednesday 18 September, to engage the public to take even small actions but that could be leading to big benefits for the environment. She also said that on 23 September, the Geneva jet d’eau would be turned green to mark the Climate Action Summit. The staff of the United Nations Office at Geneva had also expressed their support for the Secretary-General’s action; further information was available from the staff representatives.
Yemen
Hervé Verhoosel, for the World Food Programme (WFP), read the following statement:
“The UN World Food Programme is encouraged by the news from Mark Lowcock that fresh funds for the humanitarian response in Yemen will be paid soon.
WFP is facing a significant funding shortfall and without immediate contributions we will have to reduce food rations to millions of Yemenis from October.
We urgently need over US$600 million to cover our operation in Yemen and serve millions of people for the next six months.
We have a three-to-four month lead-time in Yemen to import and then transport enough food to feed the millions in Yemen who rely on WFP assistance. We need to have a constant flow of commodities coming into Yemen to ensure that each month we can get food to the most vulnerable. WFP’s average requirements are around US$200 million per month as we continue to scale up our operations to reach 12 million people each month.
From May through July, WFP reached more than 11 million people each month with food assistance. The August distribution cycle has just closed, and we will have final numbers for August in the next few days.
The humanitarian community cannot slow the pace of assistance now. The coordinated response of the entire humanitarian community has so far prevented catastrophe in Yemen, but if these interventions stop or are severely hampered the situation would immediately deteriorate.”
Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that on Monday 16 September, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, had told the Security Council that there was no time to waste before moving forward with purpose and resolve towards the political solution to end the conflict in Yemen.
Responding to questions from journalists, Mr. Verhoosel said that, if the needed funds were not forthcoming immediately, WFP had contingency plans to allow it to cope in the very short term, but the money had to be found quickly if the situation were not to deteriorate still further.
Ukraine: funding drive to raise US$52 million before winter sets in
Jens Laerke, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), made the following statement:
“The humanitarian community in Ukraine is urgently calling for US$52 million to prepare the response for the upcoming winter. Aid organizations warn that, with the start of winter in a couple of months' time, the need for humanitarian support is expected to rise as people's conditions will get even more severe than they are today. Winters in Ukraine frequently experience temperatures between 15 and 20 degrees Celsius below zero.
The funding drive comes as the United Nations-coordinated Humanitarian Response Plan for 2019, launched at the beginning of the year and requiring a total of $162 million, is less than a third funded, at 32 percent. The call-out to donors is to cover specific high-priority needs that the United Nations and partner non-governmental organizations in Ukraine have said "simply cannot go unmet". Winterization money is needed now to assist the most vulnerable on time, as it takes time to do tendering, procurement, delivery and so on of relief supplies.
Already today, the situation is critical for thousands of civilians in eastern Ukraine. Nearly 60 per cent of the families living within 5km of the “contact line” dividing Ukraine between Government-controlled and non-Government controlled areas, cannot access health care. A proportion of the funding sought will give 80,000 people access to health care through mobile medical teams or by giving them cash for transportation to health facilities. People may have to travel longer distances as more than 35 percent of the 600 primary health care facilities located along the “contact line” have sustained damage from the fighting.
Humanitarian organizations also need to winterize their shelter response in time. With additional funding, they can support 70,000 people near the contact line with winter protection, which includes repairs to damaged houses and shelters, but also support for heaters and heating material. To keep families warm, they need to be able to buy coal, as centralized heating systems have collapsed. It is also important to prevent food consumption levels going down. As the prices for food are expected to increase before winter, cash-based food assistance should be provided well in advance to allow people to stock the main commodities when prices are low.
People themselves are aware of the situation ahead and try to prepare the best they can. One elderly woman told our staff in Ukraine that “summer is usually a time when one should enjoy time outside, but for me, it is a time when I must start saving from my meagre pension, cutting my health and food expenses to be able to save up for coal for winter.” Millions in Ukraine start cutting their expenses early in summer to save resources for winter.
The largest individual portion of the extra funding required – nearly $16 million – is for protection. This sector is only a little more than 20 percent funded today. More resources are needed for mine risk education, victim assistance, marking of mined areas and demining before the areas get covered in snow. About 2 million people live in areas contaminated by landmines and other explosives. Ukraine is the third most mine-affected country in the world after Afghanistan and Syria.
Despite the challenges with access and limited funds, humanitarians are making a difference. Aid groups have provided relief and protection to some 650,000 people on both sides of the “contact line” in the first six months of 2019.”
Mr. Laerke added that, of the 32 per cent of the funding that had been given, the European Commission had provided nearly US$ 12 million, the Government of Germany US$ 10.6 million, the Central Emergency Response Fund was third in terms of the funding given and the United States of America fourth, having given US$ 4.5 million.
Appeal for Venezuela
In answer to journalists’ questions, Jens Laerke, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that, while the appeal to support the Venezuela Humanitarian Response Plan had as yet received only US$ 20 million of the US$ 223 million needed, every dollar was useful and helped the United Nations team there carry out its activities in the country. It was not possible to compare the response to that for other appeals and it was hoped that donors would give money out of recognition of the needs that existed, rather than simply because of affinities among countries.
Human Rights Council
Rolando Gomez, for the Human Rights Council, said that, at 10 a.m. that morning, 17 September, the reports of the Fact-finding Mission on Myanmar had been presented to the Council, followed by the concerned country statement and an interactive discussion. At 11.30 a.m., the Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic would present its report, which had been published the previous week. The presentation would include an oral update on the human rights situation in the country and would also be followed by the concerned country statement and an interactive discussion.
At 2 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon, the report of the Commission of Inquiry on Burundi, also published the previous week, would be presented, followed by the concerned country statement and an interactive discussion. The general debate on country situations would begin at 4 p.m. and continue the following morning, Wednesday 18 September. The Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples would then present a report addressing access to justice for indigenous peoples, to be followed at 4 p.m. by a panel discussion on the rights of indigenous peoples, focussing on the promotion and preservation of indigenous languages. It should also be noted that
Thursday 19 September was the deadline for submission of draft resolutions to be considered by the Council during the current session the following week.
Universal Postal Union Extraordinary Congress
David Dadge, for the Universal Postal Union (UPU), said that journalists were invited to cover the Universal Postal Union third Extraordinary Congress in Geneva, Switzerland, from 24 to 26 September on the matter of postal remuneration rates. UPU, which had been founded in 1874, had held only two extraordinary congresses previously, in 1900 and in 2018. The decision to hold the third Extraordinary Congress followed concerns raised by several member countries, including the United States of America, related to the remuneration system for bulky letters and small packets. Remuneration rates were the tariffs paid by the sending country to the receiving country for the delivery of its post. The delegation of the United States of America - which had said it would leave UPU if the current process was not changed – would be led by Mr. Peter Navarro, Director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy in the White House. The Congress would be attended by around 800 participants from over 100 countries.
Three possible solutions to the issue were up for discussion: to continue with the current approach but increase the pace of change; to adopt self-declared rates, whereby a country would set the rates it would charge other countries to deliver their mail to addresses within its borders; or a combination of the first two proposals. He emphasized that, given the huge importance of e-commerce in the world, the discussions could be considered as trade negotiations. A briefing on the Congress would be given on the morning of Tuesday 24 September and a press conference with the UPU Director General would be held the same day at 1 p.m.
In answer to questions from journalists, Mr. Dadge said that the issue of remuneration rates had long been recognized as a problem and that progress through the traditional route of the ordinary four-yearly congresses was taking too long. A solution needed to be found to ensure that tariffs were fair and reasonable for all concerned, including the less developed countries, which had traditionally paid less in postal remuneration rates. There were three groups of countries gathered around the proposals: one, including the United States, that was dissatisfied with the current situation; a second that agreed that the system should be changed, but was happy with the current speed of change; and a third that was trying to ensure the integrity of the postal network as a public good, which had been the reason for the foundation of UPU over a century previously.
UNCTAD announcements
Catherine Huissoud, for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), said that, as countries realized that it was not possible to find solutions alone to any of the crises – economic or environmental – affecting them, UNCTAD was promoting a global green new deal, to be presented in its Trade and Development Report 2019: Financing a Global Green New Deal. Related documentation was available, and a press conference would be held on Friday 20 September 2019 at 9:30 a.m. in Press Room 1 to introduce the report, which was under embargo until 25 September.
WHO announcements
Christian Lindmeier, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that WHO would hold a virtual press conference on Wednesday 18 September with Director General Tedros to launch the Universal Health Coverage Monitoring Report. Report was under embargo until 6 a.m. on 22 September.
WHO and the United Nations Children’s Fund would hold a joint press conference, which would also be webcast, at 10 a.m. on Thursday 19 September to present the latest estimates for maternal and child mortality, with updated figures and analyses on countries and regions.
World Patient Safety Day was being marked for the first time throughout the world with light displays on important buildings and monuments in 53 cities, including the three pyramids of Giza in Egypt, Kuala Lumpur tower in Malaysia and the jet d’eau in Geneva.
Attack on ACANU secretary
Answering questions from journalists Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that the reported incident earlier on Tuesday morning during which the secretary of the Association of the Accredited Correspondents to the United Nations (ACANU) would have been physically attacked by another correspondent would be investigated immediately and appropriate action taken.
Press conferences
Tuesday, 17 September 2019 at 12:00 p.m. in Room III
OHCHR
Sharing of the main findings of the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar and the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar.
Speakers:
- Yanghee Lee, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar
- Marzuki Darusman, Chair of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar
- Radhika Coomaraswamy, Member of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar
- Chris Sidoti, Member of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar
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The webcast for this briefing is available here: http://bit.ly/unog170919