PRESS BRIEFING BY THE UNITED NATIONS INFORMATION SERVICE

20 June 2023

Hunger worsens in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

Tomson Phiri, for the World Food Programme (WFP), provided an overview of the situation in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which he had visited recently. It was no longer business as usual there, he said; eastern Congo was a classic example of a forgotten crisis. Conflict, constrained access, climate crisis, and limited funding, in addition to violence triggering massive displacements, were making lives of the millions of people miserable. Some 6.3 million people were displaced within the country – the largest displacement in Africa, and the majority of them lived in squalid camps. Humanitarian operations could not adequately respond, stressed Mr. Phiri.

DRC was a country of binary oppositions: producing some of the most precious metals in the world, while having a huge number of food insecure people - three times the population of Switzerland. World Food Programme had activated a corporate scale-up for the eastern DRC to reach 3.6 million people in the coming six months. There was a gap between the people in need and those reached by humanitarian operations. WFP was committed to stay and deliver but needed USD 870 million for its humanitarian response; less than 15 percent of the required funding was currently provided, informed Mr. Phiri.

Responding to questions, Mr. Phiri stressed that, first and foremost, peace was needed in the DRC. Humanitarian assistance was not going to solve all the problems in the country. Under good conditions, WFP needed four days to cross 240 km between Goma and Beni, for example. DRC was on the agenda of the Human Rights Council for decades, said Rolando Gómez, in response to another question. Mr. Phiri said that the world was dealing with multiple crises at the same time, and donors had to dig deep to meet the rising needs. He said that negotiating access with various actors was an ongoing challenge in the DRC. He reminded that there were over 120 non-state armed groups in the country. Humanitarians were not a target, stressed Mr. Phiri. DRC was a desperate situation, reiterated Mr. Phiri.

New index for countries to better measure economic potential

Mussie Delelegn Arega, Head of the Productive Capacities and Sustainable Development Branch at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) presented the new Productive Capacities Index (PCI), which he compared to the key components of a car. The Index was composed of multiple indicators, the same way a car was composed of myriad pieces. The Index was seeking a new generation of policies, as the old policies by and large failed in developing countries.

PCI was universal, measuring productive capabilities in 194 economies. It was multidimensional, composed of 8 dimensions and 42 indicators. Holistic in nature, the Index showed that policy intervention in one category of the Index would have spillovers on the other categories.

Mr. Arega stressed that the poorest economies were the most vulnerable in crises. Across the 194 countries, UNCTAD had observed a slowdown in the growth of productive capacities since 2019. The decline was more pronounced in developing countries, and the impact of the cascades of crises was visible. It might take several years to bring them where they had been before the crises. The Index provided policy insights and guidance and it was forward looking, for instance, helping poorest countries to address socioeconomic vulnerabilities to shocks, unemployment, and poverty related challenges, and enabling middle- income economies to break the middle-income trap and foster competitiveness. The PCI was designed to improve policymaking on the ground; it was open, free to use by all governments, research, media, etc. could access and use it. More importantly, it was peer reviewed and validated by independent experts from the academic and policy environments.

The Index can be accessed here.

Replying to questions, Mr. Arega said that this was the second Index, with the first having been issued in 2018. He stressed that countries needed reliable tools that responded to changing global conditions. In view of the cascading crises - COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and climate change, external shocks increasingly affect countries’ abilities for sustainable development, the PCI took a novel approach to measuring development progress. The Index provided the governments with tools to address some of the challenges and gaps. Unless governments put their own house in order, no amount of foreign investment would help. The Index covered crime in general, and not one particular aspect of it.

The World Investment Report would be presented on 5 July, informed Catherine Huissoud, also for UNCTAD.

Lebanese families’ coping ability at a breaking point

Sarah Hague, Chief of Policy in Lebanon at the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), speaking from Beirut, shared an update on the situation in Lebanon, where UNICEF’s latest assessment found that the extreme economic crisis in Lebanon, now in its fourth year, had now almost entirely eroded people’s ability to cope.

Parents were increasingly forced to resort to strategies that are damaging their children’s wellbeing. A shocking 9 out of 10 families said that they no longer had enough money to cover even basic expenses. Most families had cut spending on healthcare and schooling. Going without healthcare had become commonplace. Children’s diets were rapidly deteriorating in quality, and almost 1 in 3 children had had to go to bed hungry last month. Ms. Hague said that the crisis was taking a severe toll on children’s mental health: half of caregivers reported that their children regularly appeared depressed or very sad.

In response to this cascading crisis for children, UNICEF recommended three key actions: an economic crisis needed an economic response – people simply needed money; it was vital that rising national tax revenue go toward funding these services, including education, water, healthcare, and child protection; and, finally, while the funding needs rose, UNICEF had only received one third of the funds that we need for 2023, thereby seriously endangering its ability to respond to the crisis and to protect the children of Lebanon – that had to change.

World Refugee Day

Shabia Mantoo, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said that 20 June was the World Refugee Day. Around 110 million people were currently displaced, about one third of whom were refugees. The High Commissioner was marking this day in Kenya, which had been generously hosting refugees for over 30 years. The spirit of the Global Compact on Refugees

remained as relevant as ever, said Ms. Mantoo, reminding that the second Refugee Forum would be held in Geneva in December. Inclusion was the best way to help refugees restart their lives. Towns, cities, and countries across the world would be marking the World Refugee Day today.

High Commissioner’s message can be found here.

Stories of the celebrations of inclusion from around the world are available here.

Answering questions, Ms. Mantoo stated that the response to the tragedy in the Aegean Sea was ongoing. UNHCR was not aware of the exact circumstances of the incident; thus, a thorough investigation was necessary. UNHCR had been urging for a while more collective responsibility and burden sharing. People should not be forced to take perilous journeys and die along the way. Unscrupulous individuals prayed on such people’s vulnerabilities; anti-trafficking efforts in the countries of origin or transit ought to be strengthened as well. Private companies needed to be included in the comprehensive response, along with governments and civil sector. Ms. Shaboo explained that the international law distinguished between refugees, who required international protection, and migrants; regardless of that, all were entitled to their human rights and respect of dignity.

Rolando Gómez, for the UN Information Service, quoted parts of the Secretary-General’s message on this day. This year's theme was “Hope Away from Home.”

Human Rights Council

Pascal Sim, for the Human Rights Council (HRC), informed that the HRC would hold this morning an interactive dialogue with the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in Israel. The Commission would present its second report which focused on attacks, restrictions, and harassment of civil society.

At 2 p.m., the Commission would hold a press conference on the same subject.

This afternoon, the Human Rights Council would begin its interactive dialogue on the High Commissioner’s annual report. This dialogue would continue the following day and would be followed by a panel discussion on human rights violations against Rohingya and other minorities in Myanmar. High Commissioner Türk would present the Secretary General’s interim report on Iran, as well as oral updates on Nicaragua and Sri Lanka. Which would be followed by an interactive dialogue with the Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, Victor Madrigal-Borloz. Time permitting, the Council would begin its interactive dialogue with the Working Group on discrimination against women and girls on gendered inequalities of poverty.

On 22 June, at 12:30 p.m., the Council would hear from the Special Rapporteur on the right to health – Tlaleng Mofokeng – who would present her latest report on digital innovation, technologies, and the rights to health. The same day, at 4:30 p.m., the Council would hear from the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Reem Alsalem, whose latest

report addressed the issue of custody.

Announcements

Rolando Gómez, for the United Nations Information Service (UNIS), informed that the Secretary-General was deeply troubled by the decision by the Israeli Government to amend settlement planning procedures. Such settlements are a flagrant violation of international law, the Secretary-General reiterated. The changes could be expected to expedite the advancement of Israeli settlement plans in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. 

He also referred to the Secretary-General’s remarks at the Sudan Pledging Conference, held in Geneva the previous day, and on the occasion of the adoption of the “high seas treaty.”

Today, at 2 p.m., the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in Israel would hold a press conference to present its latest report on the attacks against civil society.

On 21 June at 10:30 a.m., there would be a press conference on the 26^th International Meeting of Mine Action National Directors and United Nations Advisers.

On 22 June at 1:30 p.m., Tlaleng Mofokeng, Special Rapporteur on the right to health, would speak about her HRC report focused on digital innovation, technologies, and the right to health.

On 23 June 2023 at 3:30 p.m., Reem Alsalem, UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, would hold a press conference on child custody and violence against women.

The Ukraine recovery conference would be held in London on 21 and 22 June.

Finally, the Conference on Disarmament was holding this morning a public plenary meeting, still under the presidency of France.