Noon briefing of 11 March 2024

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC

SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES

MONDAY, 11 MARCH 2024

This morning, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, spoke at the opening of the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. He thanked the women from civil society for their work, saying he has been able to witness all over the world how their work is sparking progress on women’s rights and benefitting communities.
Mr. Guterres also warned that as the world is going through turbulent times, women and girls are being hit hard. He also noted that despite evidence that women’s full participation makes peacebuilding more effective, the number of women in decision-making roles is actually falling.
The facts are clear, he said. Women lead to peace.
Budgets and policies must follow – with ambitious targets for women’s participation and urgent investments in women’s peacebuilding.
We must speak out, loud and clear, he said. Not on our watch, he added.

SECRETARY-GENERAL
And earlier this morning, the Secretary-General spoke to reporters. He said that even though Ramadan has begun, the killing, bombing and bloodshed continue in Gaza. 
He appealed today for all sides to honour the spirit of Ramadan by silencing the guns – and removing all obstacles to ensure the delivery of lifesaving aid at the speed and massive scale required. At the same time – and in the Ramadan spirit of compassion -- he called for the immediate release of all the hostages held in Gaza. 
The Secretary-General also renewed his appeal for a Ramadan cessation of hostilities in Sudan, saying that the fighting there must end for the sake of the Sudanese people who face hunger, who face horror and untold hardships.
And earlier, we also issued a video message to mark Ramadan, in which the Secretary-General said in these trying times, the spirit of Ramadan is a beacon of hope, a reminder of our shared humanity. He called for the spirit of the holy month to guide us towards a more just and compassionate world.

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
Turning to the situation in Gaza, our colleagues at the World Health Organization and their partners told us they reached two hospitals in the northern part of the Gaza Strip and those are the Al Ahli and Al Sahaba hospitals – and that was over the weekend.
This followed an assessment mission to those two hospitals on Friday by OCHA [Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs], the UN Population Fund, and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The WHO-led mission on Saturday delivered orthopaedic and trauma items for about 150 patients, as well as 13,000 litres of fuel to Al Ahli hospital. The team also reached Al Sahaba hospital with 12,000 litres of fuel.
In a social media post, the Director-General of WHO, Dr. Tedros [Adhanom Ghebreyesus] said that both hospitals are functioning with limited capacity, and lack fuel, anaesthetics, antibiotics, specialized staff and critical supplies. He said we need sustained, safe access to health facilities to deliver life-saving health care on a regular basis.

SECURITY COUNCIL
Later today, at 3 p.m., the Security Council will convene for an open briefing on the situation in the Middle East. Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, will be briefing and obviously will brief on her mission she just concluded to Israel.

HAITI
Turning to Haiti, the Spokesman said the Chef de Cabinet, Courtenay Rattray, is in Kingston, Jamaica. He is representing the Secretary-General at the high-level meeting organized by the community of Caribbean States, CARICOM. Also with him there from the UN is Atul Khare the Head of the Department of Operational Services, and Miroslav Jenča, the Assistant Secretary-General [for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas] in the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs.
Our main message to the meeting is that it is critical that we support the Haitian people with one voice towards finding rapidly a Haitian-led solution to the current grave crisis.
The Secretary-General continues to call on the Government and all national stakeholders to agree on immediate steps to stop the ongoing deterioration of the situation in the country, and to advance the political process that will lead to elections.
He also continues to urge Member States to accelerate ongoing plans to deploy and, of course, adequately fund the Multinational Security Support mission, which was, as you will recall, authorized by the Security Council last October, and that mission is needed to tackle the grave security needs of Haitians.
In answer to questions about the trust fund that is supposed to fund this mission, the Spokesman said that unfortunately, he can confirm that there are no new contributions so far to the trust fund, it still stands at $10.8 million.
On the humanitarian end, our colleagues continue to do everything they can to deliver assistance to people in need, despite the risks for their own safety.
Since the end of February, the World Food Programme and its partners have delivered more than 50,000 meals to people who have fled their homes. UNICEF and the International Organization for Migration have provided nearly 70,000 gallons of water and emergency shelter material.
We, along with our partners also distributed 1,500 hygiene kits to sites where people uprooted by the violence are living.
But that is, of course, not enough. We need unhindered, safe humanitarian access without preconditions.
Our humanitarian partners continue to report shortages of medicine and medical equipment, along with blood, beds and staff to treat the patients who are coming in with gunshot wounds from areas all around Port-au-Prince.
The Humanitarian Needs Response Plan for Haiti, which calls for $674 million, is only 2.6 per cent funded, that means it has only $17.7 million in the bank. That is not enough. We urgently need funding to be able to help the people of Haiti.

WESTERN SAHARA
The Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Western Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, travelled to Moscow at the invitation of the Russian authorities.
Today (11 March) he had discussions with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin on the issue of Western Sahara.

UKRAINE
The Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tell us that attacks on the frontline regions over the weekend resulted in civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure. In the Donetsk Region, in the east, the city of Myrnohrad was particularly impacted after two attacks on March 8th and 10th. Civilians, including children, were reportedly injured, and the homes of some 200 families were damaged. That is according to what the authorities and our partners are telling us.
Other towns in the region also sustained attacks, with homes, hospitals and schools being damaged. That’s also what local authorities are telling us. Our partners have provided construction materials, helping nearly 900 civilians whose homes had been damaged.
Over the last three days, homes, schools and civilian infrastructure were also reportedly damaged by attacks in the Kharkiv, Dnipro, Odesa and Kherson Regions, all according to national authorities.

MYANMAR
Turning to Myanmar, where our humanitarian colleagues are deeply concerned about the indiscriminate use of heavy weapons in residential areas that is posing grave risks and costing civilian lives in Rakhine state.
On Saturday, a stray artillery shell landed in a residential area in the state capital Sittwe, killing at least eight Rohingya civilians and injuring 12 others, including five children. This is the second time in two weeks that a stray shell has killed people in Sittwe.
These incidents take place amid intensifying fighting in Rakhine between the Myanmar Armed Forces and the Arakan Army. The situation has prompted a surge in displacement across the state. More than 300,000 people are now displaced in Rakhine State.
The tactics used by the parties to the conflict are harming civilians and undermining humanitarians’ continued ability to deliver assistance to people in need.
We remind all parties to the conflict of their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians, including aid workers.

SOMALIA
In Somalia, the deputy heads of OCHA [Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs] and the Food and Agriculture Organization have wrapped up their three-day mission to the country. Speaking in Mogadishu over the weekend, the Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Joyce Msuya, said the humanitarian community will seek more international support for Somalia going forward, as climate change continues to drive up needs, with women and girls bearing the brunt of the crisis.
Ms. Msuya also warned that the lives of millions of people hang on a very tight balance, adding that this year’s Humanitarian Response Plan will seek to reach 5.2 million people with life-saving assistance.

CHAD
In Chad, the UN and its partners – together with the Government – today launched the 2024 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan, which seeks $1.1 billion to help 4.6 million people in the country.
The plan prioritizes food security and nutrition, as Chad braces for what could be the worst lean season in more than a decade. You’ll recall that just a few weeks ago, the Government declared a state of emergency due to the food security and malnutrition situation in the country.
The 2024 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan, which is aligned with Chad’s national development plan, also focuses on providing health care and support for refugees and their host communities in Chad.
Since the start of the conflict in neighbouring Sudan last year, Chad has opened up its doors and welcomed more than half a million refugees, which has significantly strained the humanitarian situation in the east of the country. Meanwhile, attacks by non-state armed groups in the Lake Chad Basin are driving further internal displacement.
Last year, the humanitarian community managed to assist 3.5 million people, despite receiving just one-third of the $920 million we had asked for.

SYRIA
Over the weekend we issued a statement marking yet another sad and grim anniversary in Syria, which is 13 years of conflict.
During these years, the people of Syria endured unprecedented devastation and displacement, and today, three out of every four people need humanitarian aid. In the statement, the Secretary-General said it is long past time for key parties to step up and meet the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people. He underscored the importance for everyone to do their utmost to reach a genuine and credible political solution that restores the sovereignty, the unity and independence, and the territorial integrity of Syria in accordance with Security Council resolution 2254 and that it creates the conditions necessary for the voluntary return of refugees in safety and in dignity.
The Secretary-General also stressed that we need urgent and adequate funding to sustain our life-saving humanitarian operations, including early recovery.

BRIEFINGS TODAY AND TOMORROW
At 1 p.m., Maher Nasser, Director of the Outreach Division in the Department of Global Communications, briefed reporters on the conference
that the Department of Global Communications will host, together with civil society, which is the 2024 UN Civil Society Conference in Support of the Summit of the Future, under the theme “Shaping a Future of Global and Sustainable Progress.” This will take place on 9 and 10 May of this year at the United Nations Office in Nairobi, in Kenya.

Tomorrow, at 9:30 a.m., there will be a briefing, sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Ireland to the United Nations with the NGOs Karama and the Afghan Women’s Forum, and that is linked to CSW68.

At 10:15, Jean-Martin Bauer, the World Foof Programme Director in Haiti, will brief reporters from Port-au-Prince to update on his agency’s work.

The guest at the noon briefing tomorrow will be Yasmine Sherif, from Education Cannot Wait, along with Oksen Lisovyi, the Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine and Yevhen Kudriavets, the First Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine.