Right to a Clean, Healthy & Sustainable Environment & other topics - Daily Briefing (28 July 2022)

Noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General. Highlights: - Secretary-General/Right to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment - Joint Coordination Centre/Istanbul - Ukraine - Resident Coordinators - Deputy Secretary-General’s Travels - Yemen - Central African Republic - Senior Personnel Appointment - Democratic Republic of the Congo - World Hepatitis Day SECRETARY-GENERAL/RIGHT TO A CLEAN, HEALTHY AND SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT This morning, we issued a statement in which the Secretary-General welcomes the adoption by the General Assembly of its historic Resolution recognizing the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. He says that this landmark development demonstrates that Member States can come together in our collective fight against the triple planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. The Secretary-General says that the international community has given universal recognition to this right and brought us closer to making it a reality for all. He notes that the Resolution will help reduce environmental injustices, close protection gaps and empower people, especially those that are in vulnerable situations, including environmental human rights defenders, children, youth, women and indigenous peoples. The Secretary-General added that the Resolution will also help States accelerate the implementation of their environmental and human rights obligations and commitments. However, he stresses, the adoption of the Resolution is only the beginning. He urges States to make the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment a reality for everyone, everywhere. The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, has also issued a statement on this. JOINT COORDINATION CENTRE/ISTANBUL In a statement we issued last night, the Secretary-General warmly welcomed the official inauguration of the Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) in Istanbul earlier in the day. He underscores the importance of the Parties working in partnership directly to effectively implement the Black Sea Grain Initiative, with a view to reducing global food insecurity. The work of the JCC will enable the safe transportation, by merchant ships, of grain and related foodstuffs and fertilizers from three key Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea to the rest of the world. This will help to effectively respond to and prevent rising global food insecurity. Together with the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Russian Federation and the Secretariat of the United Nations on promoting the access of Russian food products and fertilizers to world markets, it will help reinstate confidence in the global food market and reduce food prices from their current levels. UKRAINE Further on Ukraine, our humanitarian colleagues in the country are sounding the alarm about a new wave of shelling and airstrikes having a high impact on civilians across most of the country. Over the last 24 hours, at least 10 of the country’s 24 oblasts have experienced attacks, including intense fighting reported in the Donbas region, according to our partners on the ground and local authorities. Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that in Donetska oblast, strikes and fighting have reportedly left many people killed or injured over the last 24 hours, on both sides of the front line. Yesterday, for example, a hotel was hit and completely destroyed in Bakhmut, in the Government-controlled areas of the oblast, leaving an unconfirmed number of people injured and at least one dead. The situation is also critical in the southern Mykolaivska oblast, where civilians have endured daily shelling and airstrikes for more than a week. According to humanitarian security reports, Mykolaivska oblast has been impacted by attacks at least 184 times in July alone, which, besides damaging and destroying infrastructure, have killed over 20 civilians and injured more than 80 others. In Luhanska oblast, although fighting has reduced since the Russian Federation forces and affiliated groups took control of most of the region, the humanitarian situation is reportedly increasingly critical. The UN and its humanitarian partners have not had access to the region since early June, but reports we have received from local authorities say that access to water and sanitation services, as well as much-needed health care, is extremely limited. Across Ukraine, we, along with our humanitarian partners, have provided critical assistance to more than 11 million people. However, insecurity and impediments imposed by the parties to the conflict are hampering operations and impacting our ability to provide life-saving assistance to those who are the most impacted by the war. Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=28%20July%202022


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