HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
MONDAY, 2O NOVEMBER 2023
GAZA
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that 69,000 litres of fuel entered Gaza from Egypt yesterday. The Israeli authorities have confirmed that they would start allowing the entry of a daily amount of approximately 70,000 litres of fuel from Egypt, which is well below the minimum requirements for essential humanitarian operations. Fuel is set to be distributed by the UN Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, to support food distribution and the operation of generators at hospitals, water and sanitation facilities, shelters, and other critical services.
Yesterday, UNRWA and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) distributed 19,500 litres of fuel to water and sanitation facilities south of Wadi Gaza, enabling them to operate generators and resume their operation. This fuel is expected to last for about 24 hours.
To the north of Wadi Gaza, all water and sanitation facilities are presumed to be shut down, and no distribution of bottled water has been taking place since the start of the Israeli ground operations on 28 October, raising grave concerns about dehydration and waterborne diseases.
UNRWA has reported that the number of fatalities in the attack that directly hit Al Fakhouri school in Jabalia on 18 November is at least 24 people, with others injured. At the time of the incident, the facility was sheltering about 7,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs).
In a statement yesterday, the Secretary-General said he was deeply shocked that two UNRWA schools were struck in less than 24 hours in Gaza. Dozens of people – many women and children – were killed and injured as they were seeking safety in United Nations premises.
The Secretary-General reaffirmed that UN premises are inviolable. He also reiterated his call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.
YEMEN
Regarding the Houthi seizure of the Bahamas-flagged cargo ship in the Red Sea, while the circumstances around the incident remain unclear, we are following with deep concern reports of the seizure by the Houthis of a vessel flying the flag of the Bahamas in the Red Sea and reportedly en route between Türkiye and India.
We reaffirm the importance of ensuring that international law is respected in full in relation to maritime navigation.
We urge all concerned parties and countries in the region to exercise maximum restraint and refrain from taking any escalatory actions.
UNEP EMISSIONS GAP REPORT
Earlier this morning in this room, the Secretary-General launched the UN Environment Programme’s Emissions Gap report, which says that if nothing changes, in 2030, emissions will be 22 Gigatonnes higher than the 1.5 degree-limit will allow. That’s roughly the total present annual emissions of the USA, China, and the EU combined.
The Secretary-General said the report shows that the emissions gap is more like an emissions canyon that is littered with broken promises, broken lives, and broken records.
“We know it is still possible to make the 1.5 degree limit a reality. And we know how to get there,” he said, adding that it requires tearing out the poisoned root of the climate crisis: fossil fuels.
Leaders can’t kick the can any further. We’re out of road, he said and underscored that the UN Climate Conference in Dubai next month, known as COP28 must set us up for dramatic climate action now.
SECRETARY-GENERAL/TRIP ANNOUNCEMENT
The Secretary-General today also announced that later today he will travel to Chile and then to Antarctica to see the deadly impact of the climate crisis. Scorching temperatures mean Antarctic ice is melting faster, with deadly consequences for people around the world.
While in Antarctica he is expected to stop to see the Collins and Nelson Glaciers, and he will also stop at the Kopaitic Island, which is home to penguins and other species which are being impacted by climate change.
The Secretary-General will be accompanied on this trip by President of Chile, Gabriel Boric.
The Secretary-General will also take his experiences in Antarctica to COP28 in Dubai next week, where he will call for action that matches the scale of the crisis we face. We expected him back in New York on Sunday.
SECURITY COUNCIL
The Secretary-General spoke this morning at the Security Council’s debate on the vital link between development and sustaining peace. He told Council members that development by itself is not enough to secure peace but it is essential. No peace is secure without inclusive and sustainable development that leaves no one behind.
He noted that development gains are often among the first casualties of war; the closer a country is to conflict, the farther it is from sustainable and inclusive development. By contrast, he added, human development lights the way to hope – promoting prevention, security, and peace. This is why advancing peace and advancing sustainable, inclusive development go hand-in-hand, he said.
The Secretary-General said that he has proposed a set of concrete actions we can take now – including a Sustainable Development Goals Stimulus of $500 billion a year to reduce debt burdens and release resources for long-term, affordable financing from multilateral and private sources.
MALI
The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) said that it has closed its base in Ansongo, in the Gao region of eastern Mali, and handed it over to civilian authorities on Saturday 18 November. Over the past decade of service in Ansongo, peacekeepers have played a key role in stabilizing the area and contributing to reducing the impact of terrorist groups, in support of local authorities and the Malian Defense and Security Forces.
The UN Mission noted that these efforts include securing the transborder road that connects Niger to Mali, which has been vital for the country and the broader region. To protect civilians and restore state authority, the Mission also undertook numerous activities, including building and equipping facilities for the Malian forces and local police, providing fuel for their security patrols, and securing the airstrip for humanitarian [activities].
MINUSMA also provided basic services to help prevent community conflict and improve living conditions, including access to safe drinking water and electricity.
Despite these improvements, persistent insecurity remains a challenge, mainly due to the limited presence of national authorities. The Ansongo camp is the ninth of 13 bases that have closed under MINUSMA’s plan to withdraw from Mali by 31 December. That is in line of course with the Security Council wishes.
The Mopti base will close in early December, and the liquidation phase in remaining sites in Timbuktu, Gao and Bamako will begin on 1 January.
ABYEI
From Abyei, the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), has strongly condemned attacks by a group of armed youths on villages in the area around Angath, Wunpeth, and Korioch yesterday, which resulted in a number of people killed and injured.
It also reports that, contrary to what was reported in a number of media over the weekend, no peacekeeper was killed or wounded during these incidents. In response to the attacks, UNISFA moved quickly to enhance security in the impacted area by intensifying patrols, closely monitoring the situation and engaging with the relevant communities.
NIGER
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that last week, on November 14th to be precise, 320 tons of therapeutic nutritional products from the World Food Programme arrived in Niamey as part of trucks transporting humanitarian goods which entered the country through Burkina Faso. This was the first entry of humanitarian goods into the country since July 26th.
More humanitarian transports – including medicines, medical equipment, water and sanitation items and therapeutic foods from the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) are on their way to Niger, and those will arrive from Togo to Kaya in Burkina Faso.
This is a welcome development for humanitarian organizations, whose stocks were almost depleted while needs remain high across the country.
To give you a sense of the needs, 4.3 million people need humanitarian assistance in Niger, including 3.3 million people who are food insecure according to the latest food security analysis.
Our humanitarian partners are working on statistics for next year and we will be communicating those figures towards the end of the year.
SOMALIA
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today said that heavy rains and floods have impacted half a million people in the past week alone in Somalia. This brings the total number of people impacted since the start of floods in early October to 1.7 million.
The number of people displaced also continues to increase and has reached more than 640,000.
According to our partners, at least 41 people have been killed, including 12 children. Roads, bridges and airstrips have been damaged in many parts of the country, hampering the movement of people and supplies and leading to higher prices of basic commodities.
OCHA warns that suspected cases of Acute Watery Diarrhoea and cholera are rising and are expected to [further increase].
Our humanitarian partners, the authorities and local communities have stepped up assistance to impacted people. More than 740,000 men, women and children have received life-saving assistance since October.
Despite the rapidly growing needs, funding for the humanitarian response remains low. With six weeks in the year remaining, the Humanitarian Response Plan for Somalia is only 40 per cent funded.
LIBERIA
In a statement issued over the weekend on Liberia, the Secretary-General commended the Government and people of Liberia for the 2023 presidential and legislative elections, which took place in a calm and peaceful manner. These were the first general elections since the closing of the UN Mission in Liberia in 2018.
The Secretary‑General reaffirms the continued support of the United Nations to the people of Liberia in their efforts to consolidate peace, democracy, and sustainable development.
INTERNATIONAL DAYS
International days. Today is Africa Industrialization Day. In his message, the Secretary-General says that accelerating Africa’s industrialization is vital for growth, diversifying economies and combatting poverty.
And today is of course World Children’s Day. UNICEF tells us that 400 million children – or about 1 child in every 5 – are living in or fleeing from conflict zones. But beyond conflict zones, children’s rights also are under threat. These include rising poverty and inequality, public health emergencies and, of course the global climate crisis.
***The guests at the Noon Briefing were Michael Ryan, the Executive Director of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme, and Rob Holden, WHO’s Senior Emergency Officer. They spoke to reporters about the situation of the health sector in Gaza and the recent evacuation from the Al-Shifa hospital.