Secretary-General & Other topics - Daily Briefing (16 Septemper 2019)

Briefing by Stephane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Highlights:
- Secretary-General
- Yemen
- Bahamas
- Syria
- Lebanon
- Central African Republic
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Mozambique, Child Detention
- Last Game
- Preservation of the Ozone Layer
- Press Briefings
- Picasso's Guernica Tapestry
Secretary-General
At 3pm this afternoon, the Secretary-General will speak at the closing of the 73rd General Assembly. 
He will commend the work of the outgoing General Assembly President, calling her a champion for multilateralism and making the United Nations relevant for all.
The Secretary-General will point to the adoption of the General Assembly’s 73rd session of two Global Compacts, one on Migration and one on refugees, as examples of what can be achieved through international cooperation.

Yemen
Martin Griffiths, the Special Envoy for Yemen, briefed the Security Council by VTC today from Geneva. He said we have no time to waste before moving forward with purpose and resolve towards the political solution to end the conflict in Yemen.
In particular, he warned that the attack on Aramco facilities in Saudi Arabia over the weekend, has consequences well beyond the region. At a minimum, he said, this kind of action carries the risks of dragging Yemen into a regional conflagration and makes the chances of a regional conflict that much higher. 
The Secretary-General condemned Saturday’s attack on the Aramco oil facilities and called upon all parties to exercise maximum restraint, prevent any escalation amid heightened tensions and comply at all times with International Humanitarian Law.
Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock also spoke to Council members and said that we have seen numerous incidents since last month in which innocent civilians have been killed and injured. He said there is a persistent pattern of attacks on Yemen which kill and injure civilians and damage civilian infrastructure and he once again urges accountability for violations. 
Mr. Lowcock added that the operating environment for aid agencies has perhaps never been worse than it is now. Almost 90 percent of the incidents are due to bureaucratic blockages, he said, noting in particular the restrictions imposed by Ansar Allah.

Bahamas
On Saturday, Antonio Guterres visited some of the areas most impacted by Hurricane Dorian in Abaco and Grand Bahama Islands.
The Secretary-General was able to survey the damage by air and he also walked through the area known as the Mudd, a poor neighborhood where many Haitian migrants lived. 
He said he was horrified by the level of destruction. “I've never seen such a level of systematic devastation. Hurricane Dorian has been classified as category five. I think it is category hell,” he said.
He added that while we have always had many hurricanes, they are now more intense, more frequent, and more powered by climate change.
He stressed that the international community should learn two things from this disaster: first, we need to stop climate change. Second, countries like the Bahamas do not contribute to climate change but are already experiencing its impacts deserve support to fully respond to the humanitarian emergency and also recover and build resilience.
During his visit to the Bahamas, he met with Prime Minister Minnis and discussed the progress of relief efforts, and he said the UN remains committed to keep supporting the government going forward.
He also visited an evacuation centre, where he listened to hurricane victims, and later on from various international organizations that are helping to coordinate the recovery.
Full Highlight: