Biological Weapons, Ethiopia, Ukraine & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (28 November 2022)

Noon briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General. Highlights: - Biological Weapons Convention - Ethiopia - Ukraine - Central African Republic - Democratic Republic of the Congo - Middle East - Venezuela - Malawi - HIV/Children and Adolescents - Noon Guest on Tuesday BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION The Secretary-General delivered remarks by video message to the 9th Biological Weapons Convention Review Conference, which is taking place in Geneva in Switzerland. He reminded participants that 50 years ago, the global community stood as one and declared that the deliberate use of disease as a weapon was an affront to humanity. Biological weapons are a clear and present danger, he said, adding that strengthening the Biological Weapons Convention is more important than ever. The Secretary-General called for action in three specific areas: First — give teeth to the Convention’s accountability provisions to ensure that scientific advances are not exploited for hostile purposes. Second — update our thinking on verification and compliance to fit today’s threats. And finally — give the Convention the increased financial and human resources it needs to carry out its important work. The review conference continues until the middle of next month. ETHIOPIA Turning to Ethiopia, our humanitarian colleagues tell us they have seen some gradual but tangible improvements in access into the Tigray region following the recent Cessation of Hostilities agreements. Since mid-November, aid deliveries have been begun moving into Tigray, including to Mekelle along the Semera and Kombolcha corridors, and to other parts of Tigray along the Gondar corridor in Amhara. Humanitarian flights for staff have also resumed for Mekelle and have started for Shire as well. From the 15th to the 24th of November, more than 450 trucks carrying aid, by the Government and by the UN and NGOs, arrived in Tigray. The majority of this is food aid - as well as medical supplies and agricultural supplies. Some fuel and cash have also been brought in. However, our humanitarian colleagues stress that what has arrived in Tigray remains far from what is actually needed to meet the huge needs in the area. More than 5 million people are in need of food assistance and an estimated 30 per cent of children are facing acute malnutrition. Sustaining and building on these movements to ensure that the required food and other items can reach all those in need is critical. Access to most parts of neighbouring areas of Amhara and Afar has also improved in recent weeks. We, along with our partners, are providing food and other assistance, including to displaced people and those who have returned. However, we need to be able to scale up our work to help all those in need. In addition, Ethiopia is experiencing an historic drought and, in the Bale zone of Oromia and the Liban zone of the Somali region, there is an ongoing cholera outbreak. Nearly 500 people have been impacted, including 20 deaths, and hundreds of thousands more remain at risk. We, along with our partners, are providing health and water and sanitation assistance. Humanitarian colleagues note that conflict in western Oromia also continues to drive people from their homes and has hampered our ability to provide aid. Full Noon Briefing Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=28%20November%202022


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