HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
TUESDAY, 22 AUGUST 2023
LIBYA
Earlier this morning, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya, Abdoulaye Bathily, briefed Security Council members. He said he is working with the President of the Presidential Council to explore jointly convening Libyan-led and UNSMIL-facilitated negotiations between Libya’s main political and institutional leaders.
He underscored that unilateral steps must be avoided at all costs and added that it is fundamental to restore Libya’s stability to preserve regional security.
Mr. Bathily noted that he remains concerned about the serious humanitarian and human rights situation of migrants, refugees, and asylum-seekers at the Tunisia Libya border.
SUDAN
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today said that they are deeply concerned about the impact of renewed fighting in several parts of the country, including South Darfur and South Kordofan.
In South Darfur’s state capital, Nyala, at least 60 people have been killed and 250 injured in recent clashes. As many as 50,000 people have fled the violence. Meanwhile, ongoing fighting has prevented trucks carrying urgently needed humanitarian relief to reach Nyala.
In Kadugli Town, in South Kordofan, our humanitarian partners report that food stocks have been almost depleted. Renewed clashes have driven more people from their homes.
The UN calls on the parties in Sudan to cease hostilities and allow for the delivery of life-saving assistance to civilians.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
The head of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Bintou Keita, today condemned in the strongest possible terms the attack that took place earlier this week in the Samboko area, in Ituri. According to initial reports, at least 25 civilians were killed, while several others were wounded in the attack that was allegedly carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).
For several weeks now, the Mission and the Congolese armed forces have been carrying out a joint operation in Ituri and North Kivu, strengthening security arrangements and thwarting several attacks.
MONUSCO expressed its readiness to support any investigation into this latest attack, and Ms. Keita reiterated her call for an immediate end to violence against civilians by all armed groups.
UKRAINE
The UN and its partners have launched an initiative appealing for $268 million to be able to support more than 1.3 million people with specific assistance in the coming winter months.
The war has severely damaged homes, energy, water, and gas infrastructure, putting millions at extreme risk during the cold season which, in Ukraine, normally starts in October and runs through March. Temperatures can drop as low as -30 degrees Celsius.
For this winter, the UN and its partners will prioritize emergency repairs to homes in the front-line communities, and will also provide clothes, heating appliances and other winter supplies.
The UN and its partners will prioritize repairs in displacement centres and financial aid to displaced people to ensure they can pay rent or utility bills. Aid organizations will also help with repairs to ensure municipal heating systems are working.
The response will build on efforts made during the last winter, when humanitarian organizations reached 2.2 million people with similar services and distributed over 4,000 generators amidst a severe energy crisis.
AFGHANISTAN
In a report released today, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said that it has recorded credible reports of serious human rights violations by the de facto Taliban authorities against hundreds of former government officials and former armed forces members. The report, which covered the period from the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan on 15 August 2021 to 30 June 2023, documented at least 800 instances of extrajudicial killing, arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and ill-treatment and enforced disappearances carried out against individuals affiliated with the former government and security forces of Afghanistan.
The Mission noted that this is despite the announcement by the de facto authorities of a “general amnesty” for former government officials and former members of the Afghan National Defense and security forces.
MIDDLE EAST
In a statement issued today, the Resident Coordinator in the occupied Palestinian Territory, Lynn Hastings, warned about the precarious situation some of the 1.3 million children that are returning to school this month.
In the first six months of this year, more than 423 incidents impacting Palestinian children and their education were recorded. Three schools were demolished by the Israeli authorities in the last 12 months.
Her statement includes grim figures on child fatalities on both sides, recalling that safe access to education is a fundamental right to all children.
ROHINGYA REFUGEES
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) today called again on the international community to provide financial support to sustain the humanitarian response and find solutions for nearly one million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.
This week marks six years since over 700,000 Rohingya women, men and children from Myanmar fled to Bangladesh. They joined hundreds of thousands of other Rohingya who had previously sought refuge in the country.
UNHCR said that decreasing funds have led – for the first time – to the reduction of refugees’ food assistance, raising concerns about dramatic consequences including rising malnutrition, school dropout, child marriage, child labour and gender-based violence.
Humanitarian agencies have appealed for $876 million this year to assist around 1.47 million people, including Rohingya refugees and local Bangladeshis. However, as of mid-August, funds for the Joint Response Plan only reached 28.9 per cent of this appeal.
PERU
The UN team in Peru, led by Resident Coordinator Igor Garafulic, is supporting nearly a quarter of a million people currently being impacted by the El Niño phenomenon.
Six UN entities are providing humanitarian assistance to those in vulnerable situations in the regions most affected by torrential rains, floods, and landslides. The UN team is working closely with national and local authorities focusing on shelter, nutrition, water, sanitation, and hygiene, along with health services, including sexual and reproductive health. They are also preventing gender-based violence and boosting social protection.
Another priority is to protect livelihoods as many of the affected population work in the informal market and lost their means of subsistence due to the emergency, including farming.
VICTIMS OF ACTS OF VIOLENCE
Today is the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief.
In his message, the Secretary-General underscores that freedom of religion and belief is an inalienable human right, yet people and communities face intolerance, discrimination and threats to their places of worship.
He urges everyone to speak out against hate and incitement to violence.
***The guest at the Noon Briefing was Mamadou Dian Balde, the UNHCR’s Regional Bureau Director for the East and the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes and Regional Refugee Coordinator for the Sudan Situation. He spoke to reporters on the challenges faced by people in the conflict there.
