Noon briefing by Stephen Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Highlights:
- Holocaust Remembrance
- Central Sahel
- Ethiopia
- Tonga
- Mozambique
- Syria
- Finance for Nature
- Hunger Hotspots Report
- Honour Roll
HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE
The Secretary-General just spoke virtually at the UN Memorial Ceremony marking the International Day for Holocaust remembrance. He said that if we were to observe a minute of silence for each victim, that silence would last more than eleven years.
Our first task, Mr. Guterres said, is to remember those who perished – the six million Jews, the Roma, the Sinti, the LGBTQ communities plus, people with disabilities, and countless others. He said that we remember the desperate pleas of Jews and others to the international community and the shameful silence that met those pleas.
The Secretary-General added that what we see today must worry us – and jolt us into action: A resurgence of Holocaust denial. Attempts to rewrite history. Efforts to whitewash and rehabilitate people who committed crimes against humanity. He said that we should not exaggerate the echoes of the 1930s, but neither should we be deaf to their eerie resonance today.
Michelle Bachelet, who also issued a message, saying that our actions in remembrance of the victims of humanity's worst crimes carry with them the seeds of healing and unity – the realization that we are one humanity, equal in dignity and rights.
CENTRAL SAHEL
At a virtual meeting on the Sahel region, Martin Griffiths, the Emergency Relief Coordinator for the United Nations, said that nearly 15 million people in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso will need humanitarian assistance this year. This is four million more than one year ago.
Driving this growing humanitarian crisis, Mr. Griffiths said, is a confluence of factors, including conflict and political instability, the pandemic, climate change, and the lack of sustainable development opportunities.
To make real progress, he called for a greater focus on resilience, sustainable solutions, and cooperation across the humanitarian and development sectors, as well as peace sector.
The humanitarian community will need close to US$2 billion for the humanitarian response in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso this year.
Last year, humanitarian organizations reached more than 7 million people in the region and raised US$700 million in funding, but the needs are growing faster than available resources.
ETHIOPIA
In northern Ethiopia, more people are fleeing their homes due to continued fighting around the town of Abala in Afar province, near the boundary with Tigray province. The clashes are also preventing the delivery of assistance by the only available route into Tigray, with no supplies having arrived there since mid-December.
In Tigray, the UN, along with its humanitarian partners, have been forced to scale back even more operations due to the severe shortages of supplies, the shortage of fuel and cash. Aid organizations have warned that operations could cease completely by the end of February. Nutrition supplies for supplementary feeding and treatment of severe acute malnutrition have already run out.
As mentioned yesterday, 3.5 metric tonnes of medicine were flown into Mekelle by the UN Humanitarian Air Service, on behalf of an NGO partner.
The fighting in Afar has reportedly led to tens of thousands of men, women and children being displaced in the last few weeks. These people urgently need food, emergency shelter, water and sanitation, and access to medical services.
Aid continues to be scaled up in areas of Amhara and Afar which are accessible. More than 523,000 people received food in Amhara in the past week, with some 3.2 million men, women and children, having been reached with food assistance since last October.
In Afar province, nearly 380,000 people have been reached in this current round of food distributions.
Full Highlights: [ Ссылка ]
