United Arab Emirates, Timor-Leste, Abyei & other…

The Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, in her role as Chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group, said she is deeply troubled over the recent decisions and proposals to markedly cut Official Development Assistance (ODA) to service the impacts of the war in Ukraine on refugees.  

In a memorial ceremony this morning, the Secretary-General expressed his deepest condolences to the Royal family of the United Arab Emirates, as well as the Government, and the people of the UAE on the passing of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.  

In a video message, the Secretary-General said today that it is with great honour and with pleasure that he joins the Timorese people in celebrating the 20th anniversary of the restoration of independence to the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. He noted that the country's example was and remains an inspiration to the world.                  

The UN Mission in Abyei has, in what it calls a major breakthrough, brokered a peace accord between the Misseriya and Ngok Dinka communities. 

In Northern Ethiopia, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that 319 trucks of humanitarian cargo – as well as one tanker of fuel - entered Tigray during the past week. That’s the highest number of trucks entering the region in a single week since 2021. 
 
In Ukraine, particularly in the east and in the southern part of the country, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that people continue to endure intense and escalating hostilities and the humanitarian situation is deteriorating. More than 640,000 people in eastern Ukraine don’t have access to electricity, and access to water is becoming increasingly limited, particularly in Donetsk city.  

Martin Griffiths, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, briefed the Security Council this morning.  He said close to $ 6.7 billion have been pledged for 2022 and beyond, following the Brussels conference for Syria last week. Yet, the commitments represent less than 50 per cent of the total funding requirements for 2022.  

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs informs us that up to 18 million people in Africa’s Sahel region will face severe food insecurity over the next three months, the highest number since 2014, according to our projections. 

The UN Peacekeeping Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) reports that they helped train and support 100 newly-appointed members of the Northern Bahr-el-Ghazal State legislative assembly in the city of Aweil on issues related to good governance. 

Today, a high-level informal strategic dialogue took place between 86 Member States representatives and senior UN Officials from across the system to exchange on ways to strengthen our response to sexual exploitation and abuse and sexual harassment.  

Today is World Bee Day which aims to raise awareness of the importance of pollinators, the threats they face and their contribution to sustainable development.  

There are three other international days to flag. Tomorrow is International Tea Day and also the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development. And Sunday is the International Day for Biological Diversity, and this year’s theme is “Building a shared future for all”.  
 
The Dominican Republic has paid its regular budget dues in full, bringing us up to 102.
 
The President of the General Assembly, Abdulla Shahid, and Antonio Vitorino, the Head of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) briefed reporters on the inaugural International Migration Review Forum.