Noon briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Highlights:
Secretary-General/South Africa
Senior Personnel appointment
Syria humanitarian
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Yemen
Sudan
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Ukraine
Central Emergency Response Fund
Birth Registration
Human trafficking/report
Soils
International Mountain Day
Secretary-General/South Africa
The Secretary-General arrived in South Africa today and began his meetings right away. He started with meetings and discussions with government officials.
The visit as you know comes at a critical time as South Africa assumes the presidency of the G20 for the upcoming year. In a meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa, they exchanged views on issues of common interest, including the Sustainable Development Goals, the reform of the international financial architecture, Financing for Development, Climate Action and, of course, the G20 agenda for 2025.
Prior to that, the Secretary-General delivered some remarks at a meeting of the G20 Sherpas that is going on in Johannesburg. His message was that our financial institutions need an update, and developing countries must be represented fairly in their governance.
The Secretary-General also held discussions with the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa, Ronald Lamola. And in a joint press encounter afterward, the Secretary-General said that he is currently on a mission of solidarity and a mission for justice. Africa has enormous potential, he said, but the continent continues to be held back by injustices that are deeply rooted in the history of colonialism.
The situation in the Middle East is always on the Secretary-General’s mind and in response to questions he said that in Syria, we see some signs of hope coming from the end of the dictatorship. He added that the UN is totally committed to supporting a smooth transition of power, and with an inclusive political process in which the rights of all minorities will be fully respected. He also spoke about the immense tragedy of the Palestinian people whose right for self-determination and to have their own State must be constantly reaffirmed.
On Sudan, he underscored that we need all parties silencing the guns and committing to a path towards sustainable peace and accountability for the Sudanese people. All those remarks were shared with you.
Senior personnel appointment
The Secretary-General is appointing Major General Anita Asmah of Ghana as the Head of Mission and Force Commander of the UN Disengagement Observer Force, otherwise known as UNDOF.
Major General Asmah succeeds Lieutenant General Nirmal Kumar Thapa of Nepal, who will complete his assignment in mid-December, so very shortly.
The Secretary-General is grateful for General Thapa’s leadership and dedication to UN peacekeeping efforts.
For her part, Major General Asmah brings to the position 31 years of leadership and command experience in the Ghana Armed Forces as well as UN peacekeeping.
Most recently, she served as Director General in the Department of Defence Civilian Establishment of the Ghanaian Armed Forces. Prior to that, she was the Deputy Force Commander of UNDOF from 2021-2023.
Syria humanitarian
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today said that the security situation in Syria remains volatile, as airstrikes and localized hostilities have continued to affect many parts of the country. We are concerned about the risks of explosive ordnance as people continue to be on the move.
UN partners have identified more than 50 minefields over the past 10 days, which is curtailing the movement of civilians and impeding the delivery of goods and services.
The UN and its partners continue to support the response across the country and are resuming humanitarian activities as security conditions allow.
UN local and national partners in Homs are gradually resuming humanitarian activities. The water stations in Al-Husayn city have now been reactivated, which benefits the residents of both Homs and Hama.
Meanwhile, in the north-east Syria, humanitarian activities have been constrained by insecurity. Despite the challenges, our partners have managed to distribute dozens of tents, thousands of mattresses, blankets, sleeping bags and solar lamps to centres hosting displaced people in Tabqa and Raqqa.
The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, said in a social media post yesterday that much is in flux in the country, but vital aid must continue to flow, and critical health and other services must be sustained. He also reiterated that humanitarians would continue to engage whenever and wherever needed to support the Syrian people.
Full Highlights: [ Ссылка ]
