HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
TUESDAY, 13 FEBRUARY 2024
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
Speaking to the press as he entered the Security Council this morning, the Secretary-General said that he is particularly worried about the deteriorating conditions and security for humanitarian aid delivery in Gaza.
He said that there is a breakdown in public order. At the same time, he added, restrictions imposed by Israel are limiting humanitarian distribution. On the other hand, the deconflicting mechanisms to protect humanitarian aid delivery is not effective.
Th Secretary-General reiterated his hope that negotiations for the release of hostages and some form of cessation of hostilities would be successful in order to avoid an all-out offensive over Rafah, which would have devastating consequences.
GAZA
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that intense fighting in Khan Younis, particularly near Nasser and Al Amal hospitals, continue to jeopardize the safety of medical staff.
OCHA notes that yesterday, volunteers were able to exit Nasser hospital and reroute sewage from a broken pipeline that was flooding the emergency room in the hospital, and threatening to shut it down. This was made possible after our colleagues at OCHA coordinated a local, three-hour pause, which was agreed by the Israeli military. A permanent fix of the pipeline is still pending. At the same time, Al Amal Hospital continues to contend with acute shortages of fuel and medical supplies and currently has only one functional operating room.
Across Gaza, humanitarian operations, including needs assessments and deliveries, are heavily constrained, including due to denial of access and attacks hitting coordinated convoys and surrounding areas.
Humanitarian colleagues working on education have analyzed satellite images to assess damages to schools across the Gaza Strip. Their assessment found that 162 school buildings have been directly hit, representing nearly 30 per cent of the total 563 school buildings in Gaza. At least 26 of those have been destroyed.
SECURITY COUNCIL/CLIMATE CHANGE AND FOOD INSECURITY
This morning, the Secretary-General also spoke at the open meeting at the Security Council on climate and security, presided over by the President of Guyana. The Secretary-General said that a global food crisis is creating a hellscape of hunger and heartache for many of the world’s poorest people, adding that the climate crisis is accelerating with a deadly force, saying that both these facts undermine peace, and that empty bellies fuel unrest.
The Secretary-General stressed that to avoid mounting threats to international peace and security, we must step in, and act now to break the deadly links between conflict, climate and food insecurity.
Also briefing was Simon Stiell, the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. He warned that the less that is done to tackle climate change, the more conflicts the Security Council chamber will face, stressing that investment in adaptation, resilience, and clean energy can increase prosperity and food security and help avoid future conflicts. Done right, he added, climate action can help build peace.
And also briefing from the UN was Beth Bechdol, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s Deputy Director-General, noting that 258 million people in 58 countries are facing high levels of acute food insecurity, and over two-thirds are there because of climate and conflict - that is, 174 million men, women and children.
UKRAINE
On Ukraine, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that attacks on energy facilities have continued today. In the Dnipro region, in the east of the country, after two days of strikes on energy facilities, local authorities reported another attack overnight on a thermal plant. This prompted the evacuation of a hospital and the closure of schools in the impacted areas, due to low temperatures. Other damage to energy facilities was also reported in Donetsk, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Kherson and Sumy regions.
On the frontline, UN humanitarian partners continue to support communities whose access to critical services has been severely hampered by active hostilities. In the community of Siversk, in the Donetsk Region, aid organizations supported the installation of a filtering station for clean water. People in Siversk have been living for months without access to gas, without access to water and without access to electricity, and that is due to the destruction of critical infrastructure.
In 2023, humanitarian organizations helped nearly 825,000 people with access to clean water. That us just in the frontline Donetsk Region.
SOUTH SUDAN
Nicholas Haysom, the Head of United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), urged political leaders to overcome key obstacles to the holding of free, fair and credible elections. Speaking today at a press conference in Juba, he said that elections can be held in December of this year, if the country’s leaders take urgent action to meet several obligations, including finalizing security arrangements, deploying unified forces and disbursing money to operationalize electoral bodies rather than just allocating it to the budget.
He also called for intervention at the highest levels to resolve intercommunal tensions, conflict and volatile situation between Dinka Twic, Ngok Dinka, and Nuer communities in Warrap in South Sudan, and also in Abyei.
HAITI
In Haiti, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator, Ulrika Richardson, condemned the violence that has further escalated in the capital, Port-au-Prince, but also across the country, as well. She said that civilians – particularly children – are bearing the brunt of the recent violence.
Yesterday, according to humanitarian partners on the ground, a medical facility in Port-au-Prince was caught in heavy exchange of gunfire, prompting the facility to evacuate patients and staff.
Ms. Richardson emphasized that civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected, and humanitarians must have safe and unrestricted access to people in need. Our colleagues say that more than 313,000 people are displaced across Haiti.
More than 1,000 schools in Haiti, including in Port-au-Prince and other urban areas, have been temporarily closed since the middle of last month due to ongoing demonstrations. Weeks of violence have also led to an increase in the prices of basic commodities, including in food items, and some of those increases have been as much as 25 per cent.
WORLD RADIO DAY
Today is World Radio Day. This year’s theme is “Radio: A century informing, entertaining and educating” – a theme that reminds us that since its creation in the late 19th century, radio has continued to be a prime source of information and entertainment.
According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), it is estimated that over 4 billion people listen to the radio.
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION
France has paid its dues in full. 56 countries have paid in full so far.
