GAZA
The Secretary-General is on an official visit to Oman, and he has authorized me to say the following statement.
The Secretary-General is appalled by the escalation of military activity in and around Rafah by the Israeli Defense Forces.
These developments are further impeding humanitarian access and worsening an already dire situation. At the same time, Hamas goes on firing rockets indiscriminately. Civilians must be respected and protected at all times, in Rafah and elsewhere in Gaza. For people in Gaza, nowhere is safe now.
The Secretary-General reiterates his urgent appeal for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and for the release of all hostages. He calls for the Rafah crossing to be re-opened immediately and we must have unimpeded humanitarian access throughout Gaza. That statement will be issued shortly.
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, said in a social media post that parties must take all feasible precautions to spare civilians – including UN personnel and humanitarian workers – after one UN staff member was killed and another injured yesterday when their vehicle was hit en route to the European Hospital in Rafah.
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) reports that families continue to flee Rafah in search of safety.
The agency estimates that as of yesterday, nearly 450,000 people had been displaced from Rafah in the last week. UNRWA says families are fleeing wherever they can – including to rubble and sand dunes.
As we have said repeatedly, all parties must respect international humanitarian law, at all times. This means that civilians must be protected, and their essential needs – including food, shelter, water and health – must be met, wherever they are in Gaza and whether they move or stay.
The families being displaced from Rafah are arriving at sites that lack shelter, latrines, and water points. However, it is impossible to improve the situation at displacement sites if supplies can't enter Gaza – and if we lack the fuel to transport them inside Gaza to the families who need them.
Despite that, efforts are ongoing to deliver life-saving assistance wherever and whenever possible. Our humanitarian partners report that work continues to restore health services at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, which is expected to formally reopen in the coming days.
The hospital already started providing hemodialysis treatment last week to patients who can no longer be treated at An Najjar Hospital in Rafah – which has ceased providing services.
Meanwhile, our colleagues in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs say that, yesterday in the West Bank, Israeli settlers attacked aid trucks bound for Gaza. The settlers offloaded and vandalized the vehicles at the Tarqumiya checkpoint and near the Barrier by Beit ‘Awwa. Several trucks were damaged.
Israel must protect against violence by Israeli settlers and ensure that all allegations of settler violence are investigated, and the perpetrators are prosecuted.
SECRETARY-GENERAL
Like I just said, the Secretary-General is currently in Muscat, Oman.
Upon his arrival last night, he met with Sheikh Khalifah Al Harthy, the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Sultanate of Oman.
During his official visit, the Secretary-General is expected to hold discussions on Wednesday with His Majesty Sultan Haitham Bin Tarek. And a meeting with the Foreign Minister, H.E. Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi is also expected to take place tomorrow before he departs to Bahrain for the Arab Summit.
While in Manama, as we mentioned to you previously, the Secretary-General will deliver remarks to the Summit, and he is expected to have several bilateral meetings with leaders attending the Summit.
Discussions will mainly focus on the situation in Gaza, and the wider region.
We will keep updating you on the Secretary-General’s schedule along the way.
SUDAN
And just for the record, we issued a statement last night, in which the Secretary-General expressed his grave concern by the outbreak of fighting in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur.
He urged the parties to immediately stop the fighting and resume ceasefire negotiations without further delay.
The Secretary-General is alarmed by reports of the use of heavy weaponry in densely populated areas, resulting in dozens of civilian casualties, significant displacement and the destruction of civilian infrastructure.
He recalls that civilians in the area are already facing a looming famine and the consequences of over a year of war, and this fighting puts over 800,000 civilians at risk.
The Secretary-General reminds all parties of their obligation under international humanitarian law to protect civilians. He also requests that all parties facilitate safe, rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access to all civilians in need in El Fasher, across Darfur and Sudan.
And, tomorrow, I will be joined in this room by the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami.
She will provide you with more details on the humanitarian situation in the country.
SOUTH SUDAN
Turning now to South Sudan, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that more than an estimated seven million people in the country are likely to experience high levels of food insecurity through July.
According to OCHA’s latest report, at least 79,000 people are at risk of catastrophic levels of hunger – mostly in locations affected by conflict, economic crisis, and climate-related shocks.
Our humanitarian partners are also mobilizing support for people displaced by intercommunal fighting in Tambura County, in Western Equatoria.
An estimated 26,000 people have fled so far, and most residential areas around Tambura town are deserted.
For their part, our peacekeeping colleagues are closely monitoring the situation in Tambura. To deter further violence, the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) had immediately deployed additional peacekeepers to reinforce the site. The Mission reports that they have also tripled the number of daily patrols.
Currently, about 200 Blue Helmets are conducting daily patrols to provide security to the local population. Our colleagues in South Sudan also continue to engage with community leaders and political parties at the national and local levels to peacefully resolve any issues and reduce intercommunal tensions.
Meanwhile, the influx of returnees and refugees from the conflict in Sudan continues to strain already limited services at border points and in host communities.
Since the war in Sudan began in April of last year, at least 670,000 new arrivals have been registered in South Sudan – 80 per cent of them returnees.
And just to flag that this year’s humanitarian appeal for the country remains severely underfunded – which is challenging response efforts. Just 11 per cent of the $1.8 billion required has been received to date, some $195 million.
HAITI
From Haiti, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has an update about the impact of the attack by armed groups that we mentioned yesterday. It took place in Gressier, south of the capital Port-au-Prince.
According to the first assessments conducted by humanitarian organizations, the May 10 attacks in Gressier have displaced some 4,400 people. Nearly three quarters of them are now sheltering with host families, with others seeking refuge in seven makeshift displacement sites.
This brings the total number of people newly displaced in Port-au-Prince in the past two weeks to nearly 10,000.
More assessments are being carried out, and OCHA is liaising with its partners to coordinate the ongoing response.
UNICEF and its partners have reached more than 50,000 displaced children and families impacted by attacks since late February through their mobile clinics in Port-au-Prince.
LIBYA
Karim Khan, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), briefed the Security Council on the Court’s work concerning Libya.
He told the Council there was enthusiasm for the prosecution to open an office in Tripoli. He added, however, that a paradigm shift is still needed and that the rule of law must apply in Libya.
And this afternoon, the Security Council will hold a meeting on Ukraine. Lisa Doughten, the Director of the Financing and Partnerships Division of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, is expected to brief Council members.
PEACEKEEPING
The Under-Secretary General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, is in Qatar, where he engaged today with Government officials to discuss peacekeeping related matters, as well as mine action.
Tomorrow, Mr. Lacroix will arrive in Afghanistan, where he will raise awareness on the impact of explosive ordnance, including on Afghan communities.
He will be in the country until 17 May and will be accompanied by the Director of the United Nations Mine Action Service, Ilene Cohn.
Mr. Lacroix also aims to explore avenues for effective strategies to clear explosive ordnance from Afghan communities. Afghanistan’s people are threatened by mines, and 81 per cent of the 821 explosive ordnance casualties reported in Afghanistan between January 2023 and March 2024 were children.
CYPRUS
The Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General on Cyprus, Maria Angela Holguín, has this week concluded her third visit to the island, as well as visits to Ankara and Athens.
As she informed the media in Cyprus on 13 May, she will soon begin to prepare her report to the Secretary-General with her findings and will discuss with him the way forward.
In the meantime, she continues her efforts to search for common ground.
ECOSOC
This morning, the Secretary-General addressed, by video message, the annual meeting of the ECOSOC operational activities for development segment.
He said that we stand at a pivotal moment in our journey towards the 2030 deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals, adding that the UN development system, led by the Resident Coordinators, is critical to getting us there.
Last year’s SDG Summit called for a rescue plan and the UN is shifting gears to accelerate action.
We are supporting the capacity development of countries, including efforts to strengthen policy and regulatory environments.
At the same time, the Secretary-General told Member States that he is deeply concerned about the system’s funding, adding that securing sustainable and predictable funding is his main priority for the system this year.
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS
And last, we’re getting regular budget dues today from two of the world’s landlocked nations.
We are fortunate to have two cheques, one from one of the smallest landlocked countries in Europe, at approximately 468 square kilometres.
Any guesses? It’s Andorra.
The second payment is from a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. That is Mongolia.
We thank our friends in Andorra la Vella and Ulaanbaatar for taking us to 110 fully paid-up Member States.
