EU: After the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize today, the SG extended his sincere congratulations to the body on behalf of the entire UN family. The SG noted that the EU, an “indispensable partner” to the UN, has been given a “richly-deserved recognition” of its accomplishments and its importance in Europe and around the world.
Syria: Joint Special Representative for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, held talks with the King of Saudi Arabia today. The two agreed that the crisis in Syria was deteriorating with each passing day, and on the dire need to stop the bloodshed and provide additional aid to Syrians inside the country as well as to Syrian refugees. UNHCR also announced today that they will be budgeting more than $64 million in additional funds to help Syrian refugees through the upcoming winter months.
Pakistan: OCHA said today that the flash floods in Pakistan’s Sindh, Punjab, and Balochistan provinces in early last month triggered a humanitarian crisis which continues to unfold. Thus far, nearly 270,000 people have been displaced, with nearly half a million houses having been damaged and huge amounts of crops lost.
OCHA: Catherine Bragg, the ASG for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, will travel to Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe on Monday. The aim of her visit is to take stock of the humanitarian challenges in the region – more than 5.5 million face food insecurity due to the impact of recurrent natural disasters – and to support efforts to promote disaster risk reduction including resilience and preparedness.
This week at the UN:
Monday, October 15: the SC will hold an open debate on the Middle East.
Tuesday, October 16: the SC will hold a debate on Somalia, followed by closed consultations on Sudan/South Sudan that afternoon; the Chair of the Independent Commission of Inquiry on Syria will brief the press on the latest findings on the human rights situation in Syria.
Wednesday, October 17: the SC will hold an open debate on promotion and strengthening of the rule of law in the maintenance of international peace and security.