HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
THURSDAY, 7 DECEMBER 2023
GAZA
The Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths spoke to the press in Geneva today. He said that the pace of the military assault in southern Gaza is a repeat of the assault in northern Gaza. It has made no place safe for civilians in southern Gaza, which leaves the humanitarian plan in tatters, he said.
The World Food Programme (WFP) warns that hunger is spreading widely in Gaza and people are growing increasingly desperate trying to find food to feed their families. Cases of dehydration and malnutrition are rapidly increasing.
Recent WFP phone-based monitoring shows that between 83 and 97 per cent of families are not consuming adequate amounts of food, and in some areas as many as 80 per cent of households report spending a full day and night without any food - some for as many as 10 days in the last month.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that most patients and staff in the Kamal Adwan hospital in Jabalia were evacuated yesterday by Gaza’s Ministry of Health, and the hospital largely stopped functioning and ceased admitting new patients. This is due to the intense fighting in its vicinity, compounded by the lack of basic medical supplies, water, food and fuel. Currently, only 14 out of 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip are functional, and these only provide limited services. Among them, two small hospitals in the north and 12 in the south are reported to be able to admit new patients.
Meanwhile, eighty trucks carrying humanitarian supplies and 69,000 litres of fuel entered from Egypt into Gaza yesterday.
This is well below the daily average of 170 trucks and 110,000 litres of fuel that had entered during the humanitarian pause implemented between 24 and 30 November, and the average of 500 truckloads (including fuel) that entered every working day prior to 7 October.
The ability of the UN to receive incoming loads of aid has been significantly impaired over the past few days by several factors. These include a shortage of trucks within Gaza, with some being stranded in the Middle Area, which has been severed from the south; telecommunications blackouts; and the increasing number of staff who were unable to report to the Rafah crossing due to the hostilities.
SECURITY COUNCIL
This morning, the Secretary-General addressed a Security Council debate on Transnational Organized Crime.
He said the activities of transnational organized crime take many forms, but the ramifications are the same: weakened governance, corruption and lawlessness, open violence, death, and destruction.
Illicit financial flows are not abstract figures, he added. They amount to billions of dollars in missed development opportunities, lost livelihoods, and worsened poverty.
The Secretary-General highlighted priorities for action.
First, he said, we must strengthen cooperation as the only credible path to target the criminal dynamics that fuel violence and prolong cycles of conflict.
Then, Mr. Guterres added, we must strengthen the rule of law, strengthen prevention and foster inclusion.
And finally, at every stage, he told Council Members, we must remain vigilant to the ever-changing nature of organised crime, and continually rethink our approaches - both in how we work and how we cooperate with others.
Ghada Waly, the Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) also spoke at this meeting.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Earlier this morning, the Secretary-General participated in the opening segment of the first in-person meeting of members of his Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence.
He underscored the significance of the interim report – that will be completed by the end of the year, and how important that report will be in the global debate on AI governance, including in the leadup to the Summit of the Future, which will take place in September here in New York next year.
The Secretary-General also emphasized that the report should put forward ambitious recommendations on how Artificial Intelligence can help empower humanity.
The meetings will continue tomorrow.
CENTRAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE FUND
We have an update on the outcome of the High-Level Pledging Event for the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) – which was held yesterday. Forty donors announced contributions of more than $419 million for 2024. This exceeds the $409 million pledged at last year. So, we say thank you.
So far this year, CERF has allocated more than $640 million to support millions of people in need of urgent assistance in some 40 countries and territories.
This included Sudan, the response to the earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, as well as Gaza.
And to illustrate the critical role of the Emergency Response Fund, today, Martin Griffiths, the
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, has allocated $4 million from the Fund to Madagascar and $5 million to Zimbabwe to take action ahead of droughts triggered by El Niño.
In Zimbabwe, the resources will also be used to respond to a cholera outbreak.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
Today, Bintou Keita, the Head of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) expressed concern over the intensification of fighting in the country’s East.
She called on all parties to the conflict to defuse tensions and for M23Mouvement to immediately cease hostilities.
The UN Mission continues to work jointly with the Congolese armed forces (FARDC) to protect civilians in the Sake area in North Kivu, including through robust and regular patrolling. The Mission is also continuing to provide protection to around 20,000 civilians, who have sought refuge inside its Kitchanga UN base over the past weeks.
SOUTH SUDAN
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) participated today in a key meeting with the Government of South Sudan and partners on the status of implementation of the Revitalized Peace Agreement of 2018.
The Mission welcomed the recent deployment of the Necessary Unified Forces to Upper Nile state while urging the Government to provide necessary funds and attention to ensure a cohesive, structured security sector that can effectively protect civilians and provide a secure environment.
At the meeting, the Mission’s Deputy Special Representative, Guang Cong, expressed concern over reports of violence in the Abyei Administrative Area and Warrap State, as well as the fighting and mobilizations in Leer and Guit in Unity State.
And with only 12 months to go to South Sudan’s first post-independence elections, Mr. Cong encouraged the Government to enter 2024 with a renewed drive and a sense of urgency to implement the Peace Agreement.
DARIEN JUNGLE
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) today urged for a stronger response in the Americas as half a million people have crossed the Darien jungle - located on the border of Colombia and Panama - this year.
Both agencies warned of a worsening humanitarian emergency and called for a regional, comprehensive approach founded on cooperation and solidarity, and taking into account the situation in countries of origin, transit, and destination.
IOM and UNHCR are providing humanitarian assistance to migrants in the region, while also working with states and civil society to identify appropriate and long-term solutions to the challenges at hand.
CIVIL AVIATION DAY
Today is International Civil Aviation Day.
The purpose of this Day is to help generate and reinforce worldwide awareness of the importance of international civil aviation to the social and economic development of States.
