HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC​,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
MONDAY, 14 AUGUST 2023
 

MALI
The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) says the withdrawal from Ber in the Timbuktu region is being expedited, by one day, due to a deteriorating security situation in the area, including risks to the safety and security of UN personnel. The national authorities were promptly informed. The Mission reported two attacks yesterday on a convoy carrying personnel and equipment from the base at Ber to Timbuktu, resulting in four Burkinabe peacekeepers suffering injuries, fortunately those are not life threatening.
The UN condemns the attacks and calls on all parties to ensure safe movement for peacekeepers throughout the withdrawal period, as the Mission endeavours to hand over bases and previously mandated responsibilities to the Malian authorities, the UN Country Team and the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel.   
As a rule, the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Mali can only transfer its facilities to the Malian state. In this context, the UN is negotiating with the Malian authorities a draft agreement that will govern transfer of UN peacekeeping camps. In parallel, whenever MINUSMA departs a camp, the designated representative of the Malian authorities is requested to attest to the state of the camp and the facilities and also to confirm that the UN has fulfilled its environmental obligations.    

NIGER 
The UN team in Niger continues to deliver aid despite the challenges, including the ongoing rainy season. 
Last week, 22,000 people in the Maradi region, in the centre of the country, received cash assistance and food items. 
The UN and humanitarian partners are also working with de facto authorities to identify and prepare a site to accommodate over 13,000 internally displaced people in Ouro Gueladjo, in the Tillabéri region. These people were displaced from several villages in that region in mid-July, before the current political crisis. 

SUDAN 
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is deeply concerned by reports of deadly clashes in South Darfur in recent days. 
The violence has displaced an estimated 20,000 people from several neighbourhoods around the state capital, Nyala Town. That’s according to preliminary reports from the International Organization for Migration. 
OCHA is closely monitoring the situation and is working to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance to South Darfur. Unfortunately, the clashes are currently hampering any transport of aid into Nyala from East Darfur.  
  
UKRAINE 
Turning to Ukraine, the Humanitarian Coordinator there, Denise Brown, condemned a new wave of attacks over the weekend, which once again damaged houses, hospitals and schools and killed and injured dozens of people, including children. OCHA noted that front-line communities in Kherson and neighbouring Zaporizhzhia regions were particularly impacted. In the Kherson region, an entire family, including a baby, was reportedly killed in their home by shelling in Shyroka Balka village. 
According to the humanitarian teams on the ground, Odesa was also hit yesterday, with residential houses and education facilities being damaged. 
Meanwhile, the UN continues to support people across the country.   
Last week, two inter-agency convoys delivered assistance to front-line communities in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions. The convoys delivered bottled water, food, medicines, shelter materials, hygiene kits, and household items to support more than 15,000 people who remain in these areas. 
More than 7.3 million people in Ukraine have received aid so far in 2023. In total, some 18 million people need support. 
  
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 
In Bosnia Herzegovina, the UN Resident Coordinator, Ingrid Macdonald, has expressed her deep sorrow and extends her condolences to the families of the victims after the tragic shooting that took place in Gradačac on Friday. We are horrified by the fact that the murder of a woman was livestreamed via a social network, which is one of the latest in a streak of femicide and severe cases of gender-based violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Femicide, the intentional killing of women and girls based on their gender, represents a glaring and grave violation of human rights.  

NOON GUEST TOMORROW 
The noon briefing guest tomorrow will be Gordon Brown, who is the UN Special Envoy for Global Education and former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.  
He will join virtually to brief on the issue of girls' education in Afghanistan. 
 
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION 
Zimbabwe is the 129th Member State to pay its dues to the UN’s regular budget.