HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
MONDAY, 29 JULY 2024
VENEZUELA
The Secretary-General commends the Venezuelan people for their determination to express their will peacefully through the ballot box.
We have taken note of the announcement made by the electoral authorities as well as the concerns expressed by political actors and members of the international community. The Secretary-General calls for complete transparency and encourages the timely publication of the election results and a breakdown by polling stations.
The Secretary-General trusts that all electoral disputes will be addressed and resolved peacefully and calls on all Venezuelan political leaders and their supporters for moderation. He recalls that electoral authorities should undertake their work independently and without interference to guarantee the free expression of the will of the electorate.
BANGLADESH
The Secretary-General remains deeply concerned about the situation in Bangladesh. He notes reports of the resumption of student protests today and reiterates his call for calm and restraint.
The Secretary-General is concerned about reported mass arrests of thousands of young people and political opposition in connection with the current student movement. He underscores the importance of due process and the right to freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly. He is also alarmed by emerging reports about the excessive use of force by security forces and credible evidence of human rights violations. He reiterates his call for all acts of violence to be investigated promptly, transparently, and impartially, and for those responsible to be held to account.
We continue to raise our concerns about the situation in the country with relevant authorities, both in the capital Dhaka and here in New York and we count on Bangladesh to respect and uphold human rights, including as a top troop contributing country to United Nations Peacekeeping missions. We have taken note of the statements by the Bangladeshi authorities that UN-marked vehicles are no longer being deployed within Bangladesh. We remind and reiterate that UN troop- and police- contributing countries are to use UN insignia and equipment marked with the UN insignia only when they are performing mandated tasks as UN peacekeepers in the context of their deployment within a UN peacekeeping operation.
SOUTH ASIA FLOODS
In South Asia, UNICEF says it is alarmed about reports of children and young people impacted by torrential rain, flash floods in Afghanistan, in Bangladesh, in India and Pakistan.
UNICEF is on the ground in all of these countries supporting the governments and partners to support affected children and families. Some of the support provided has been in the form of bed nets, tarpaulins for temporary shelter, buckets, mugs and other essential items.
UNICEF is also calling for $9.3 million from the international community to support emergency preparedness and strengthen climate-resilience programmes for children in the region.
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs say more than 200,000 people – that is about nine per cent of Gaza’s current population – have now been displaced over the last week in the wake of evacuation orders issued by the IDF [Israeli Defence Force]. OCHA reports that tens of thousands of people continue to experience new waves of internal displacement across Gaza due to evacuation orders and ongoing hostilities.
Our humanitarian partners that are tracking population movements in Gaza estimate that new directives issued by Israeli authorities on Saturday and Sunday affected parts of Rafah, of Khan Younis and Deir al Balah, where a combined 56,000 people had been sheltering.
UNRWA’s Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, says only 14 per cent of areas in Gaza are not under evacuation orders.
He added that these directives are creating havoc and panic, noting that people often have just a few hours to pack whatever they can and to try to start all over again in a place that is probably not safe as well.
Once again, we underscore that all parties to the conflict must respect their obligations under international humanitarian law, including by taking constant care to spare civilians and civilian objects. This includes allowing civilians to leave for safer areas and allowing their return as soon as circumstances allow. People must be able to receive humanitarian assistance, whether they move or whether they choose to stay. OCHA says this latest round of displacement comes at a time when water, sanitation and hygiene conditions are being further eroded in Gaza – with, as you know, reports of infectious diseases on the rise.
As you are aware, the polio virus was detected in wastewater earlier this month.
Though no cases have been recorded, it is crucial that conditions on the ground in Gaza enable aid organizations to respond quickly and at scale. That includes ensuring that children can receive vaccines. The World Health Organization announced last week that it is sending more than a million polio vaccines to Gaza.
ISRAEL/LEBANON
Yesterday in a statement, the Secretary-General condemned the killing of 12 civilians, mostly children and teenagers, in a village in the Israeli-occupied Golan, that took place on Saturday. Civilians, and children in particular, should not continue to bear the burden of the horrific violence plaguing the region.
The Secretary-General calls on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and reiterates once again his consistent call on all concerned to avoid any further escalation. The exchanges of fire across the Blue Line must cease immediately. All parties must comply with their obligations under international law and urgently recommit to the full implementation of Security Council resolution 1701 and immediately return to a cessation of hostilities.
For their part, over the weekend, our Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, and Gen. Aroldo Lazaro, the UNIFIL [Force] Commander, also urged the parties to exercise maximum restraint and put a stop to the ongoing intensified exchanges of fire, which could ignite a wider conflagration that could engulf an entire region and be catastrophic as one can well imagine.
SUDAN
The Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, today strongly condemned the indiscriminate attacks that took place on Saturday in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur. Local authorities reported that at least 97 civilians were reportedly killed or injured when a hospital and a residential area came under attack.
Ms. Nkweta-Salami called on the parties to stop the fighting and to do everything possible to protect civilians.
And of course, a reminder that more than 10 million men, women and children in Sudan have been displaced inside the country and across borders since fighting erupted in April of last year. This year’s humanitarian appeal for Sudan is still less than one third funded, with $859 million in the bank out of the $2.7 billion that is necessary.
SOUTH SUDAN
And just heading South to South Sudan, we and our humanitarian partners are supporting the Government’s efforts to prepare for what’s expected to be the worst flooding in the area in about 60 years.
For our part, we aim to assist some 2.4 million out of the 3.3 million people projected to be impacted by the floods from September onward. The plan is to provide health and nutrition services, as well as shelter, and food assistance to those affected.
Our OCHA humanitarian colleagues tell us that - to do this – and to meet the needs of the new arrivals fleeing the conflict in Sudan – more funding for the humanitarian response in South Sudan is urgently needed. Since April of last year, when fighting broke out in Sudan, more than 770,000 returnees and refugees have fled across the border into South Sudan.
This year’s appeal is also about a third funded, with $542 million in cash in the bank out of nearly $1.8 billion that is needed.
It is also crucial that aid workers have safe and unimpeded access to reach those in need in South Sudan. Last month alone, there were nearly three dozen cases of violence against humanitarian personnel and supplies in South Sudan, mostly in the north of the country, that is what our humanitarian colleagues are telling us.
ETHIOPIA
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that teams deployed by the UN and our partners continue to support the Ethiopian Government’s response to the devastating landslides in the south of the country. We also provide lifesaving assistance.
Our humanitarian colleagues are helping deploy two international environmental experts to support the response and evacuation efforts. According to local authorities, 232 people have been confirmed dead, at least 14,000 people have been impacted and more than 650 displaced.
Verification and search-and-rescue work continues. Additional casualties are expected as people are still missing.
Meanwhile, our humanitarian colleagues tell us that coordinated efforts are underway to evacuate 6,600 people in areas that continue to be at high-risk.
The national authorities warns that heavy rainfall will persist, which is of course putting other areas at risk of landslides.
UKRAINE
In Ukraine, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tell us that attacks over the weekend on front-line and border areas have caused civilian casualties, including among children. The attacks also damaged civilian infrastructure in different parts of Ukraine.
Hlukhiv, a town in the Sumy Region, in the north-east of the country, was particularly impacted by an attack on Saturday. Aid workers delivered repair materials and provided psychological support.
Attacks in Dnipro, Donetsk and Kherson over the weekend also injured children, that is what local authorities are telling us.
GUEST
Sigrid Kaag, the Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza, was the guest at the noon briefing. She briefed reporters virtually, from Jordan.
