Noon briefing of 27 February 2024

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
TUESDAY, 27 FEBRUARY 2024

SECURITY COUNCIL
This morning, the Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, and the Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, briefed Security Council members on the situation in Syria.
Mr. Pedersen outlined some elements for immediate action - among them getting the Constitutional Committee back on track. And today, he issued formal invitations for the ninth round in Geneva for the Constitutional Committee to meet in late April.
He appealed to the Syrian parties to respond positively and to all key international stakeholders to support the UN’s actions as a facilitator and refrain from interfering regarding a venue the Syrian parties themselves had formally agreed on.
For his part, Mr. Griffiths spoke about the humanitarian situation.
He said that a staggering 16.7 million people now require humanitarian assistance – that’s nearly three-quarters of the population.
But this year, Syria’s humanitarian outlook remains bleak. He underscored that the humanitarian community remains committed to assist people in need across Syria. “But we cannot do so unless we have the required funding,” he said.
This afternoon, the Security Council will reconvene at 3:00 p.m. for a briefing on the “Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict - Resolution 2417: Update on Food Security Risks in Gaza.”
Director of Operations at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Ramesh Rajasingham; the Food and Agriculture Oganization’s Deputy Director-General, Maurizio Martina, and the World Food Programme’s Deputy Executive Director, Carl Skau, are all expected to brief.

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
UNRWA says that none of the humanitarian convoys have been able to reach the north of the Gaza strip since 23 January.
The Commissioner General of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, said yesterday there has been a sharp decrease in the delivery of aid into the Gaza strip.
The UN system needs more entry points into the Gaza Strip, including from the north. The UN needs safe routes for convoys and speedy passage through checkpoints.
The World Food Programme says that the Agency has food supplies at the border and, with certain conditions, it would be able to scale up to feeding 2.2 million people across Gaza. Almost 1,000 trucks carrying 15,000 metric tonnes of food are in Egypt ready for entry.
Also today, the Humanitarian Country team - in a statement - denounced an incident in which humanitarian workers were targeted during a medical evacuation at Al Amal hospital in Khan Younis. This was flagged at the bi-weekly Geneva briefing.

LEBANON
In a statement issued this morning, the Force Commander of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), Aroldo Lázaro, said that in recent days the Mission continued its active engagement with the parties to decrease tensions and prevent dangerous misunderstandings.
Lt. Gen. Lázaro warned that recent events have the potential to put at risk a political solution to these hostilities. He added that currently there is an expansion and intensification of strikes, and that this is changing the life of tens of thousands of civilians on both sides of the Blue Line.
He is repeatedly urging all parties involved to halt hostilities to prevent further escalation.
Also today, the Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Joanna Wronecka, expressed her deep concern at the gradual expansion in the exchange of fire across the Blue Line - in scope, scale and intensity. She stated that in exercise of her good offices, she has intensified her engagement with all stakeholders towards urgent steps for de-escalation.
Warning that this undermines Security Council Resolution 1701, she said she is also encouraging concerted efforts by international partners to help the parties find sustainable solutions that enhance security and stability along the Blue Line.

LEBANON/HUMANITARIAN
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that in less than five months, nearly 90,000 people became internally displaced, and dozens of civilian casualties were reported because of the fighting.
The continued hostilities and related challenges are hampering the ability to safely provide much-needed assistance in border villages.
Yesterday, the World Health Organization condemned the killing of two paramedics and destruction of ambulances and vital medical infrastructure in the southern Lebanese village of Blida over the weekend, saying attacks on health care must stop.

HAITI
Today, in Port-au-Prince, the UN and its partners, together with the Government, launched the 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan.
The Plan seeks to provide food, shelter, health, education and protection services for 3.6 million Haitians over the next 12 months, calling for $674 million.
It also comes against the backdrop of a serious protection crisis for millions of Haitians. Nearly 1 in 2 Haitians are food insecure, and basic services are on the brink of collapse.
The Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti, Ulrika Richardson, will be the noon briefing guest tomorrow to update on the latest humanitarian situation.

SOUTH SUDAN
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) reports that it is establishing a new team site in Abiemnhom, in Unity State, in line with its mandate to protect civilians and improve security in areas bordering Warrap state and the Abyei region. Peacekeepers have begun deploying to the site to also mitigate any spillover effects of the recent clashes in Abyei into South Sudan.
Their presence will help build trust and confidence between communities and contribute to creating conditions conducive to the safe delivery of humanitarian assistance to those affected by heavy flooding in Bentiu and to thousands of people seeking refuge from the crisis in Sudan.
Nicholas Haysom, the Head of UNMISS, briefed the African Union Peace and Security Council today.
He stressed that persistent intercommunal conflict in South Sudan undermines the country’s ability to hold peaceful elections in December. He called on the Government to urgently finalize and implement transitional security arrangements to address this issue.

ETHIOPIA
The Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, has allocated $17 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to address worsening food insecurity in Ethiopia.
The new funding reflects the deep concern over the impact of a new El Niño-driven drought that is affecting Ethiopia, with parts of Afar, Amhara and Tigray hardest hit.
Food insecurity is only set to increase in the coming months. As the new drought intensifies, more than 10 million people across Ethiopia are expected to need food assistance during the July to September lean season. Meanwhile, previous droughts and ongoing hostilities continue to have an impact – and projected flooding could bring further hardship.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs underscores that there is a short window of opportunity to avert the worst impacts on communities battered by back-to-back shocks, including the conflict in northern Ethiopia between 2020 and 2022.
It is essential that this latest CERF allocation is followed up by additional funding from donors. Thanks to their generosity – and to the efforts to the Government of Ethiopia – some 6.6 million people are already being reached with food and cash assistance. However, to sustain and scale up the humanitarian food and non-food response across the country, more resources are urgently needed.
To that end, the humanitarian community and the Government of Ethiopia yesterday launched a joint appeal for this year’s response, asking for $3.24 billion to address the needs of some 15.5 million people in need in 2024.

NIGERIA
In Nigeria, the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Mohamed Fall, met yesterday with the authorities of Borno State, in the country’s northeast. He reiterated the UN team’s and the humanitarian community’s commitment to assist in the resettling of people internally displaced.
Mr. Fall stressed the importance of addressing immediate needs and at the same time, of finding sustainable solutions to improve people’s lives.
In the past years, attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in this part of the country have made people more vulnerable and continue to impede their access to assistance. Today, more than 2 million internally displaced people are unable to return to their homes.
Protection needs are high, especially for women and girls.

NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES
On the health front, the UN Refugee Agency, the World Health Organization - together with Denmark, Jordan and Kenya - are jointly convening a global high-level technical meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases in humanitarian settings, and that is taking place in Copenhagen, in Denmark, from 27 to 29 February.
The aim is to support integration of essential services for Non-Communicable Diseases in emergency preparedness and humanitarian response.

SENIOR PERSONNEL APPOINTMENT  
Today, the Secretary-General is appointing Vivian van de Perre of The Netherlands as his Deputy Special Representative for Protection and Operations in the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, known as MONUSCO.
Ms. van de Perre succeeds Khassim Diagne of Senegal, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his dedicated service to MONUSCO.
Ms. van de Perre brings to the position over 30 years of United Nations experience, both in the field and at Headquarters.
She currently serves as the Deputy Head of Mission in the United Nations Mission to support the Hudaydah Agreement in Yemen.