HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
MONDAY, 29 APRIL 2024
KENYA
The Secretary-General is saddened by the loss of life and damage caused by flash flooding in Nairobi and other parts of Kenya.
He extends his condolences and solidarity to the families of the victims and to the people and Government of Kenya.
The United Nations team on the ground has been working closely with the Government and its partners since the onset of the heavy rains earlier this year to respond to the humanitarian needs.
The Secretary-General reiterates the United Nations’ continued commitment to supporting the people and the Government of Kenya in this challenging time.
KENYA HUMANITARIAN
And on the floods, the U.N. team on the ground, led by Resident Coordinator, Stephen Jackson, has been working closely with national and international partners since the start of the flooding to help support nearly 25,000 people with food and non-food items directly.
This season's flash flooding follows similarly heavy rains that began late last year, impacting almost 600,000 people across Kenya.
CHAD
Ahead of the presidential election in Chad on 6 May, the Secretary-General calls on all Chadian stakeholders to ensure a peaceful, an inclusive, transparent and credible electoral process.
The Secretary-General encourages all political leaders to refrain from any acts or discourse that could undermine a peaceful process, to overcome any disagreements through dialogue and to address complaints that may arise through established legal channels.
The Secretary-General reiterates the commitment of the United Nations to continue to support Chad in its effort to build a peaceful and prosperous future.
CHAD HUMANITARIAN
Also, staying on Chad, on the humanitarian situation. Torrential rains are impacting thousands of people across the south of the country, a region already wracked by food insecurity.
Since March, floods have impacted more than 3,700 people and damaged houses and schools in Mandoul and Logone Oriental provinces. This is according to what local authorities are telling us. The agriculture sector has also been impacted.
Food and shelter are the top needs. We and our humanitarian partners are providing emergency assistance, including clothing, mosquito nets and tarpaulins.
Our humanitarian colleagues warn that one million people in the southern provinces will be food-insecure during the 2024 lean season, from June to August. This number could increase drastically in the absence of emergency assistance and livelihood support.
This year’s Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for Chad seeks to reach 1.6 million people in the southern provinces. It is just six per cent funded. We have received $71 million in cash out of the $1.1 billion needed.
SOMALIA
In Somalia, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tells us that more than 124,000 people have been impacted by the seasonal rains – known as the Gu rains - which come between April and June. More than 5,000 people have been displaced in the last 10 days, with seven children killed.
Over the weekend, flash flooding in Jubaland inundated roads and temporarily cut off access between the Dhobley and Afmadow districts, impacting some 60,000 people.
The UN and its partners have pre-positioned supplies in nearly two dozen hotspot districts to meet the needs of nearly 770,000 men, women and children who are expected to be impacted. The assistance includes sandbags, shelter kits, food and nutrition supplies, cholera kits, education materials, and support for water, sanitation and hygiene.
Following the allocation of $3 million from the Somalia Humanitarian Fund, our partners have distributed 2,000 hygiene kits in Afgooye and Jamame, as well as cash assistance to more than 2,500 people.
However, we continue to need additional funding, with many regions of Somalia on high alert as the rains continue. $1.6 billion is the ask for this year’s Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan. It is only 10 per cent funded.
SUDAN
Today, the World Food Programme said that the rising violence in Sudan is restricting humanitarian aid to Darfur once again. In the past month, the World Food Programme supported more than 300,000 people there with food, including 40,000 people in El Fasher, in North Darfur state.
According to our humanitarian colleagues, there are more than 330,000 people facing acute food insecurity in El Fasher. And internally displaced people account for about half of the city’s population.
The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, has warned that an escalation of hostilities in El Fasher would be catastrophic, especially for the civilians who are already struggling to survive.
SOUTH SUDAN
In South Sudan, the Humanitarian Coordinator, Anita Kiki Gbeho, warned in a statement about the impact of recently imposed taxes on the delivery of aid and called for the Government to urgently remove them.
This is also impacting the UN peacekeeping mission, which is reviewing all of its activities, including patrols, the construction of police stations, schools, and health care centres, as well as educational support.
The new taxes and charges imposed since February would add $339,000 monthly to the cost of food assistance and the operations of the UN Humanitarian Air Service. These funds are enough to feed more than 16,300 people for one month.
Ms. Gbeho noted that more than 60,000 people have already been impacted after we were forced to pause life-saving airdrops of food assistance as our fuel reserves are running low. This number will increase to 145,000 by the end of May, should the measures remain in place.
SOUTH SUDAN/PEACEKEEPING
The peacekeeping mission in South Sudan reports that they have deployed additional troops and launched urgent integrated patrols to two hotspots following a sudden surge in intercommunal violence.
On 26 April, a group of armed youth from the Greater Pibor Administrative Area launched a significant attack on cattle keepers across the border in Kauto payam, in Eastern Equatoria, resulting in numerous deaths, the abduction of women and children, and theft of hundreds of cattle.
In response, the peacekeeping mission has sent patrols to the affected locations on both sides of the border to assess the situation, help prevent further violence, and support efforts by state and local administrators to de-escalate tensions.
Meanwhile, in Tambura, in Western Equatoria, tensions between ethnic groups are rising. Fearing further violence, around 13,000 people have now sought sanctuary at a temporary UN peacekeeping base, while 4,000 others have arrived at another displacement camp.
Over the weekend, the Mission deployed an additional 76 peacekeepers to reinforce the base, protect displaced families, and boost patrols in the surrounding area. Our peacekeeping colleagues in South Sudan are also engaging with political parties and community leaders at the local and national levels to reduce tensions and restore calm.
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
Turning to the situation in Gaza, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) tells us that intensive strikes on Rafah are continuing to be reported, along with dozens of fatalities.
OCHA reports that the situation remains dire in Rafah, where about half of Gaza’s more than two million people are currently seeking shelter.
Residents face challenges in accessing basic services, such as health care, clean water, and sanitation facilities, amid a noticeable surge in fatalities and heightened anxiety about an imminent large-scale Israeli ground operation.
Yesterday, the Coastal Municipal Water Utility warned that the entire water and sanitation system is nearing collapse.
To address the rising need for safe drinking water, the Utility and UNICEF inaugurated a solar-operated water desalination plant in Rafah last week. It’s able to produce enough potable water for some 400 families at a school sheltering displaced people.
UNICEF – along with a dozen humanitarian partners working on nutrition – has also expanded its outpatient treatment services for acutely malnourished children to more than 100 sites across Gaza, including more than 50 in Rafah and three dozens in the north.
Meanwhile, the UN Mine Action Service is warning that making Gaza safe from unexploded ordnance could take 14 years. Yesterday, the Mine Action Service and UNRWA [UN Relief and Works Agency], led a mission to assess damage to UNRWA facilities and mark any shrapnel and unexploded ordnance.
YEMEN
Highlighting the importance of including women in peace processes, the Office of Hans Grundberg, the Special Envoy for Yemen, along with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of Spain co-organized the “Women, Peace, and Security Agenda in Yemen Forum,” that took place in Madrid between 23 and 26 April.
The Forum provided space for the exchange of experiences and brought Yemeni women peace advocates together with experts in gender and mediation, and representatives from non-governmental organizations and think tanks from across the world. Special Envoy Grundberg, stressed that Yemenis need a resumption of an inclusive political process that engages a wide variety of voices, including women and youth.
HAITI
On Haiti, in response to questions about the official letters we received regarding the Multinational Security Support force and the trust fund, the Spokesman shared the following updates.
As of today, the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, Chad, Jamaica, and Kenya have officially notified the Secretary-General in writing, as requested by Security Council resolution 2699, of their intent to contribute personnel to the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission.
The letters are available online – and we shared the links with you on Friday.
Other countries have expressed interest, including publicly, but we have not yet received official notifications.
And I can also confirm that there are currently $18 million deposited in the Trust Fund for the Multinational Security Support mission.
The funds were provided by Canada, by France and the United States.
We thank all of those who have contributed, both in terms of pledges and in cash to ensure the mission receives the financial and logistical support it needs.
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION
Jamaica is the 105th Member State to pay its dues to the regular budget.
BRIEFINGS TODAY AND TOMORROW
Reena Ghelani, the recently appointed Climate Crisis Coordinator for the El Niño / La Niña Response, and Beth Bechdol, the Deputy Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization, briefed reporterd on the humanitarian impacts of El Niño/ La Niña.
Tomorrow, at noon, the Secretary-General will speak to reporters at the Security Council stakeout.
