Ukraine, Our Common Agenda, Libya & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (22 March 2022)

The United Nations of Earth reporting on this issue: "Ukraine, Our Common Agenda, Libya & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (22 March 2022)"
The topics: Noon briefing by Stephane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General. Highlights - Ukraine - Ukraine/Humanitarian - Our Common Agenda - Libya - Middle East - Western Sahara - Organization of Islamic Cooperation - World Water Day - Financial Contribution UKRAINE At the stakeout this morning, the Secretary-General said that since the war in Ukraine started one month ago, we have seen appalling human suffering and destruction in cities, towns and villages. But the war is going nowhere, fast, he said. Even if Mariupol falls, Mr. Guterres said, Ukraine cannot be conquered city by city, street by street, house by house. The only outcome to all of this is more suffering, more destruction, and more horror as far as the eye can see. Mr. Guterres said that from his outreach with various actors, elements of diplomatic progress are coming into view on several key issues. He said that there is enough on the table to cease hostilities and start serious negotiations now. Continuing the war in Ukraine, he added, is morally unacceptable, politically indefensible and militarily nonsensical. It is time to end this absurd war and give peace a chance. UKRAINE/HUMANITARIAN The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is warning that the situation is deteriorating and acute humanitarian needs in areas with ongoing fighting, such as Mariupol, are of particular concern, as the Secretary-General himself said. The main challenge remains to secure safe access in areas with ongoing fighting. Humanitarians continue to engage with the Humanitarian Notification System, in the Russian Federation in Moscow and the Ukrainian authorities in-country. Discussions are ongoing for future convoys to areas with high humanitarian needs, including Mariupol, Volnovakha, Melitopol, and Kherson. The humanitarian system has scaled up aid delivery in the last weeks. To date, we, along with our partners, have delivered more than 2,500 metric tonnes of food, with about 3,700 metric tonnes of food in transit or planned to be shipped to Ukraine. Over 1,100 metric tonnes of water, sanitation and hygiene items have also been delivered, with more than 930 additional metric tonnes in transit or planned to ship. More than 180 metric tonnes of medical supplies have been delivered, with an additional 470 metric tonnes in transit or planned. On funding, the Ukraine Flash Appeal for this year has received $428 million so far, and that represents a 38 per cent funding level. And today, the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba, urged the parties to immediately cease attacks on schools and hospitals, and on related protected personnel and not to use these facilities for military purposes. She issued a reminder that uprooted children are at their most vulnerable and all must be done to ensure their protection. OUR COMMON AGENDA The Secretary-General addressed a meeting of the Economic and Social Council dedicated to the follow-up to his Common Agenda report. He reiterated that the report aims to address the interlinked crises that we are faced with, so that we can rescue the Sustainable Development Goals and get back on track. He highlighted areas, where, following support expressed by Member States, we can consider moving forward to more detailed discussions. These, for example, include accelerating efforts on gender equality and inclusion of young people; ongoing work to prepare the Transforming Education Summit, as well as biennial summits that will convene Member States with the G20 and international financial institutions under the UN umbrella to accelerate ways to finance the implementation of the Global Goals and improve global economic governance. LIBYA Stephanie Williams, the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Libya, today welcomed the members of Libya’s High Council of State who showed up in Tunis for the important task of determining the constitutional basis needed for national elections.  She said Libya is at yet another critical inflection point, and it is extremely important for all of us to respect the will of the 2.8 million Libyans who registered to vote.  She added that she looks forward to using this opportunity to consult on the many components of the constitutional basis and see where we can find potential points of consensus. She said that the UN is here to help facilitate this consensus, mindful of the central role of the two chambers in agreeing on a constitutional basis and within our mandate to facilitate the holding of elections in the shortest possible timeframe.  Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=22%20March%202022


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