HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
MONDAY, 6 May 2024
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) continues to warn about the potentially devastating consequences of a ground operation in Rafah.
Today’s evacuation orders for East Rafah will only worsen civilians' suffering. They are being instructed to relocate to Al Mawasi, which is already overcrowded and lacking safety and essential services.
A mass evacuation on this scale is impossible to carry out safely. OCHA says the area of Rafah under evacuation orders covers more than 30 square kilometres.
There are nine sites sheltering displaced people in the area. It is also home to three clinics and six warehouses.
As of today, more than three-quarters of the Gaza Strip is under evacuation orders. Any escalation of hostilities resulting from a full-scale incursion into Rafah will push residents and displaced people currently living there past their breaking point.
UNICEF says that children account for half of the more than a million people sheltering in Rafah.
In a statement today, the agency called for children not to be forcibly relocated, saying there is nowhere safe for them to go. UNICEF said that potential evacuation corridors are likely mined or littered with unexploded ordnance, and shelter and services in areas for relocation are likely to be limited.
In war, there is an obligation to protect civilians. One fundamental way to do this is to allow civilians to leave for safer areas. But they must have enough time to leave, as well as a safe route and place to go.
Importantly, displaced civilians’ basic needs must be met, and they must be allowed to return as soon as the circumstances allow.
The United Nations is not taking part in involuntary evacuations or in the setting up of any displacement zones in southern Gaza.
As we have said repeatedly – any operation in Rafah would also push an already fragile aid operation to a breaking point.
Until now, all fuel entering Gaza comes through the Rafah crossing. Any disruption of this fuel supply would halt our humanitarian work.
And regarding the closure of Al Jazeera in Israel, the United Nations stand firmly against any decision to roll back freedom of the press. A free press provides an invaluable service to ensure that the public is informed and engaged.
YEMEN
In a joint statement today, more than 190 organizations, including UN agencies, appealed for sustained support for the more than 18 million people in need in Yemen, warning that this year’s humanitarian appeal for the country is just 16 per cent funded, with only $400 million received of the total $2.7 billion.
Despite access and funding constraints, the United Nations and its partners continue to reach millions of people each month.
The group noted that the Sixth Senior Officials Meeting on Yemen is taking place in Brussels tomorrow, 7 May, and this should be a critical opportunity to galvanize more support to address the worsening crisis in the country.
EAST AFRICA/FLOODS
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tells us that nearly 750,000 people are affected, with 234,000 people having been displaced.
In Somalia, more than 160,000 people have been affected, with more than 37,000 displaced or relocated. Seven children have been killed since April 19th, with the states of Hirshabelle, Jubaland and South West States being worst affected.
Humanitarian agencies and authorities have reached more than 70,000 people with food, cash, water, sanitation, shelter and health assistance.
Some 50 boats have been deployed to deliver supplies or evacuate people who may be marooned by flood waters.
According to estimates, the rains and floods could affect at least 770,000 people in Somalia.
The rains are also likely to worsen the ongoing cholera epidemic in the country.
In Kenya, at least 229 people have lost their lives and more than 285,000 people have been affected across the country, according to local authorities.
The UN and its partners are supporting the Government-led response and have reached more than 126,000 people with water and sanitation assistance; 31,000 people with food and cash assistance, more than 5,000 people with health services, as well as nearly 26,000 people with emergency shelter support.
In Burundi, torrential rains and the rising water level in Lake Tanganyika have affected nearly 180,000 people since January. The agriculture sector is heavily impacted. A flood response plan seeking $25 million is being finalized to support more than 300,000 people.
The partners provide health care support, drinking water, tarpaulins and psychosocial support.
And in Tanzania, the Government and the UN partners have deployed search-and-rescue teams and distributed emergency aid, including food, mattresses, mosquito nets and tents to assist flood affected people.
Finally in Rwanda, heavy rains and floods killed and injured dozens of people and damaged roads, bridges and hundreds of homes. The Governments and humanitarian partners are supporting evacuation efforts and the response.
HAITI
In Haiti, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that armed violence continues in Port-au-Prince, with more people fleeing the area.
The latest attacks in Delmas, in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince, on Friday, have forced thousands of people to flee violence.
As Dr. Natalia Kanem, the Head of UNFPA said, women and children - who are the majority of those displaced - are particularly impacted and at risk.
Conditions in the displacement sites are deplorable, with women and girls at heightened risk of sexual exploitation and violence and with people struggling to secure food, clean water and other basic necessities.
Despite the challenges and the fluid security situation, our humanitarian colleagues continue to support people in Port-au-Prince and across the country.
Since February, the World Food Programme has reached 660,000 people through its operations, including its school meals, social protection and emergency programmes across the country.
For its part, the World Health Organization and its local partners have provided health assistance to more than 36,000 displaced people in 22 sites since February.
MYANMAR
Escalating conflict in Myanmar has driven displacement up by 50 per cent over the past six months – with more than three million civilians now displaced nationwide. That’s according to UN figures as of last week.
An estimated one-third of those now displaced are children – with more than 2.7 million having fled due to conflict and insecurity since the military takeover in February 2021.
The humanitarian community in Myanmar continues to deliver life-saving assistance to those in need. Of the nearly 950,000 people reached so far this year, nearly half a million are displaced.
However, underfunding is severely hampering response efforts. This year’s $993 million appeal for Myanmar is just 6 per cent funded, with $63 million received to date.
With the cyclone season fast approaching, additional resources are needed now to protect the most vulnerable people in Myanmar.
UKRAINE
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that, yesterday, the city of Kharkiv in Ukraine suffered yet another strike as many families were celebrating Orthodox Easter. According to local authorities, residential areas were hit, killing and injuring civilians and damaging homes.
Humanitarian partners rapidly mobilized to complement the efforts of first responders and provided meals, psychological support and emergency shelter materials.
And again today, more civilians were reportedly killed and injured following strikes in Zolochiv town, in Kharkiv Region, and Pokrovsk town, Donetsk Region.
Meanwhile, our humanitarian colleagues say that strikes on energy facilities also continue. Yesterday, the Donetsk region was hit and today, it is the Sumy region that sustained attacks.
Ukraine’s Energy Ministry reports that thousands of people are experiencing power cuts in these two regions.
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS
Rwanda and Botswana paid their dues to the regular budget in full. There are now 107 Member States who have paid up in full.
GUESTS TODAY
Noon briefing guests are Cristina Duarte, the Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser on Africa, along with Ambassador Fatima Kyari Mohammed, Permanent Observer of the African Union to the United Nations.
They will brief on the 2024 Africa Dialogue Series, which takes place from 6 to 30 May.
