HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
FRIDAY, 30 AUGUST 2024
** Secretary-General / Travels
The Secretary-General is in Dili, in Timor-Leste and today, he addressed the Parliament of Timor-Leste. He said that the world has much to learn from Timor-Leste. By showing the power of multilateralism, diplomacy and hope for a better future, Timor-Leste has inspired the world. He added that the United Nations is honoured to be the country’s partner on every step of their journey. And he also took part in the official event to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Popular Consultation where he said that, as Secretary-General, he felt proud that the United Nations always fought alongside the Timorese people to consolidate democracy. And he assured the people of Timor-Leste that the UN will continue to stand in solidarity with them in the battle for development.
**Deputy Secretary-General/Travels
The Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, today visited Adré, in Chad, which, as you know is the border crossing with Sudan. Accompanied by the Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, and an inter-agency delegation, Ms. Mohammed met with Chadian authorities, refugees and representatives of the host communities.
The discussions centered on the complex challenges facing Chad, including regional dynamics and key risks, and the urgent need for global solidarity. During the visit, Ms. Mohammed emphasized the critical importance of keeping the Adré border crossing permanently open.
This crossing is a vital lifeline for aid delivery to millions in Sudan and must remain open and accessible to facilitate large-scale humanitarian assistance while ensuring the safety of aid workers.
She welcomed the recent opening of the border as a positive step towards that goal.
Ms. Mohammed also observed the humanitarian corridor operation in Adré and engaged with refugee representatives, women and community leaders. Reaffirming the UN’s commitment, she called for maximum solidarity and resources to ensure the humanitarian response fulfills its mandate and supports the people of the region, urging parties to invest more in saving lives and livelihoods. She announced an allocation from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund of $5 million as part of the rapid response towards supporting the flood recovery.
**Central Emergency Response Fund
To address critically underfunded emergencies in 10 countries in Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Middle East, the United Nations today released $100 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund, or CERF.
OCHA says that more than one third of this funding will go towards Yemen and Ethiopia, with the rest going to Myanmar, Mali, Burkina Faso, Haiti, Cameroon, Mozambique, Burundi and Malawi.
CERF funding is an emergency cash injection of last resort to avert the worst and to save lives when other humanitarian funding is just plain inadequate. This is what our Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Joyce Msuya said upon releasing those funds. She stressed the urgent need for increased and sustained donor attention to these underfunded crises, which are chronically underfunded.
**Southern Africa
Southern Africa is experiencing severe food insecurity due to an El Niño-induced drought. More than 1.1 million children under the age of 5 are facing severe acute malnutrition in 12 countries.
More than 20 million people are experiencing crisis levels of hunger in Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Angola, Zambia, Namibia, Eswatini, Tanzania, Lesotho and Botswana.
This comes as several parts of the region have been impacted by the worst dry spell in more than 100 years with the lowest rainfall of the rainy season in 40 years.
We, along with our partners have launched Flash Appeals for four countries affected by El Niño – including Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique – with an aim of reaching 14.5 million people.
This year, the Central Emergency Response Fund has allocated $29.4 million for the drought response in Southern Africa, which includes Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Angola, Zambia and, most recently, Namibia.
**Occupied Palestinian Territory
Turning to the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs tell us that attacks on humanitarian personnel, missions and humanitarian facilities are further limiting the delivery of life-saving aid in Gaza.
The most recent attacks on the UN include the one that you are well aware of, of the World Food Programme, that took place earlier this week.
OCHA warns that these incidents not only endanger the lives of aid workers – with this ongoing crisis being the deadliest on record for the UN – but also limit the capacity for us to help the more than 2 million people who are engaged in a daily struggle for their survival.
OCHA says that, today, the Israeli military announced that they would allow the return of Palestinians and aid organizations into areas of Khan Younis previously subjected to evacuation orders.
This follows a similar notice issued yesterday for areas of Deir al Balah, which we told you about.
Combined, these are the first such notices made since the beginning of the war.
More than 85 per cent of the Gaza Strip’s territory remains impacted by 40 evacuation orders issued since last October and those have not yet been reversed.
And on a more positive note, with the latest announcement that return would be allowed, multiple aid organizations, which have had to relocate and abandon their premises are now preparing to return, particularly to the evacuated humanitarian hub in Deir al Balah.
Meanwhile, OCHA says that in August, the number of humanitarian missions and movements within Gaza that have been denied access by Israeli authorities has almost doubled, compared to July.
Between the1st and 29th of this month, out of the 199 planned humanitarian missions coordinated with the Israeli authorities for northern Gaza, only 74 were facilitated. The rest were either denied, impeded, or cancelled due to logistical, operational, or security issues. In southern Gaza, out of 372 coordinated humanitarian movements, 173 were facilitated.
And from the West Bank, OCHA warns that the continuation of Israeli operations in certain areas that use lethal military tactics seemingly exceed law enforcement standards.
Today, such operations continued mostly in the Jenin governorate, according to what OCHA has been told.
OCHA has now mobilized a group of humanitarian partners from the UN and beyond to visit some of the affected areas over the weekend to assess the damage and of course to assess the needs and we can help. This will be done in close coordination with UNRWA. Together, they stand ready to provide a response based on what people need.
**Security Council – Occupied Palestinian Territory
You will have seen that yesterday, there was a Security Council briefing.
Joyce Msuya, our Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Acting Emergency Relief Coordinator briefed, as well as Dr. Mike Ryan from the
World Health Organisation.
**Libya
The UN Human Rights office and the UN Support Mission in Libya released a report, warning that the continued lack of accountability and years of impunity enjoyed by those behind the human rights violations and abuses committed in the Libyan city of Tarhuna risk fuelling more instability and further division in the country.
The report describes how the Al-Kaniyat, an armed group, which emerged in 2011, and later exercised brutal control over Tarhuna, which is a city of some 150,000 people. It details killings, disappearances, sexual violence, abductions, torture, ill-treatment, forced displacement and other gross human rights violations and abuses, as well as serious violations of international humanitarian law committed by Al-Kaniyat between 2013 and 2022.
The report points out that the failure to deliver justice has led, in some instances, to renewed violence and repeated violations, fomenting further grievances in Tarhuna and surrounding areas.
**Security Council
This morning, the Security Council held a meeting on threats to international peace and security.
Briefing Council members was the Deputy to the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, and that is Adedeji Ebo. He noted that the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine – launched on 24 February 2022 in violation of the UN Charter and international law – continues to inflict large scale suffering to the people of Ukraine.
Regrettably, he said, the security situation continues to deteriorate, and added that the Secretary-General remains greatly concerned by the worsening impact on civilians from the increased fighting in eastern Ukraine, as well as along the Ukrainian-Russian border, including in the Kursk and Belgorod areas of the Russian Federation.
**Refugee Paralympic Team
A note to congratulate Zakia Khudadadi, who won a first historic medal for the Refugee Paralympic Team.
She claimed the bronze yesterday in the Para taekwondo, on the first day of the Paralympic Games.
**International Days
Today is the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances. Hundreds of thousands of people have vanished during conflicts or periods of repression in at least 85 countries around the world. Once largely the product of military dictatorships, enforced disappearances can nowadays be perpetrated in complex situations of internal conflict, especially as a means of political repression against opponents.
And tomorrow is the International Day for People of African Descent. In his message, the Secretary-General says that on this Day we honour the immense and diverse contributions of people of African descent to the vast spectrum of human achievements, and their tireless efforts to create a better world.
** Briefings
Monday is a holiday in the U.S. and there will be no noon briefing on that day.
On Tuesday, at 1:00 pm, Ambassador Samuel Zbogar, the Permanent Representative of Slovenia and Security Council President for the month of September will brief reporters on the Security Council Programme of Work for September.
