Noon briefing of 11 October 2024

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ,

DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES

FRIDAY, 11 OCTOBER 2024

The Secretary-General warmly congratulated the grassroots Japanese organization Nihon Hidankyo on being awarded the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize. 
The atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, also known as the hibakusha, are selfless, soul-bearing witnesses of the horrific human cost of nuclear weapons. While their numbers grow smaller each year, the relentless work and resilience of the hibakusha are the backbone of the global nuclear disarmament movement.  
In a statement, the Secretary-General said that he will never forget his many meetings with them over the years. Their haunting living testimony reminds the world that the nuclear threat is not confined to history books.  Nuclear weapons remain a clear and present danger to humanity, once again appearing in the daily rhetoric of international relations. 
It is time for world leaders to be as clear-eyed as the hibakusha and see nuclear weapons for what they are: devices of death that offer no safety, protection, or security. The only way to eliminate the threat of nuclear weapons is to eliminate them altogether. 
The United Nations proudly stands with the hibakusha.  They are an inspiration to our shared efforts to build a world free of nuclear weapons.  

Noon Briefing Guest
Izumi Nakamitsu, the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs briefed reporters on the Nobel Peace Prize being awarded to Nihon Hidankyo for its work advocating for a world free of nuclear weapons.

Secretary-General
The Secretary-General this morning addressed the ASEAN-UN Summit in Vientiane. He underscored the importance of the relationship between the two organizations which, he said, is a strategic partnership. In a world with growing geopolitical divides, with dramatic impacts on peace and security and sustainable development, the Association of South-East Asian Nations [ASEAN] is a bridge-builder and a messenger for peace, he said.
He also underscored how much the United Nations is grateful for ASEAN’s important contribution to UN peacekeeping operations. The Secretary-General took the opportunity to express his solidarity with Indonesia, as two of its peacekeepers serving with UNIFIL were wounded yesterday by Israeli fire in south Lebanon. 
The Secretary-General outlined the key areas of the recently adopted Pact for the Future, which offers a strong vision for the time ahead. 
In a press conference, the Secretary-General was asked about the wounding of the two peacekeepers in Lebanon, and he condemned the shooting against the UN premises in which the two peacekeepers were wounded, adding that it was a violation of international humanitarian law. Peacekeepers must be protected by all parties of the conflict, he said.
Prior to the meeting, the Secretary-General also held bilateral meetings with the President of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Thongloun Sisoulith, and with the Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, Pham Minh Chinh. We have issued readouts of those meetings.

Lebanon
The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) reported today on further incidents that again put UN peacekeepers at very serious risk.
This morning, UNIFIL’s Naqoura headquarters were affected by explosions for the second time in the past 48 hours. Two peacekeepers were injured after two explosions occurred close to an observation tower. One injured peacekeeper was taken to a hospital in Tyre, while the second is being treated in Naqoura.
UNIFIL added that, today, several security walls at the UN position 1-31, near the Blue Line in Labbouneh, fell when an IDF caterpillar vehicle hit the perimeter and IDF tanks moved in the proximity of the UN position. UNIFIL underscores that the peacekeepers remained at the location, and a UNIFIL Quick Reaction Force was dispatched to assist and reinforce the position.
We remind you that these peacekeepers are serving in south Lebanon at the request of the Security Council under Resolution 1701 (2006). This is a serious development, and UNFIL reiterates that the safety and security of UN personnel and property must be guaranteed, and that the inviolability of UN premises must be respected at all times.
Any deliberate attack on peacekeepers is a grave violation of international humanitarian law and Security Council Resolution 1701.

Security Council
Yesterday afternoon, the Security Council met on the situation in Lebanon. Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, underscored that UNIFIL’s liaison and coordination team has continued its close engagements with the Lebanese Armed Forces and Israel Defense Forces, seeking to de-conflict, facilitate humanitarian missions, and avoid miscalculations.
For her part, Rosemary DiCarlo, the Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, said that Hizbullah and other non-state armed groups must stop firing rockets and missiles into Israel. She also urged Israel to stop its bombardment of Lebanon and to withdraw its ground forces.

Lebanon/Humanitarian
On the humanitarian front, today the World Food Programme and UNICEF dispatched a second humanitarian convoy from Beirut to the village of Rmaych in the south, where 6,000 people are seeking shelter.
Since 27 September, the World Food Programme and partners have distributed over 1 million meals and more than 143,000 ready-to-eat kits to at least 440 designated shelters.
WFP is ready to help up to one million people but stresses the need for ports and supply lanes to remain open, as well as for additional funding. Significant funding shortfalls threaten WFP’s ability to maintain food assistance at scale for people affected by the recent escalation.
UNICEF and partners continue to provide protection, psychosocial support, nutrition, health, and water, sanitation and hygiene services.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization delivered enough medical supplies to perform surgical procedures for 650 trauma patients in six major Beirut hospitals.
Our humanitarian colleagues also warn that while displacement continues, nearly three-quarters of the 1,000 designated shelters are operating at full capacity. Assessments are also underway to evaluate the needs of displaced people outside shelters, particularly with the winter season approaching.
Simultaneously, WFP is working in Syria to provide food assistance to more than 250,000 people - Lebanese and Syrians - who have crossed from Lebanon; the agency has already reached 100,000 people.
For its part, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that ongoing hostilities continue to kill, injure and displace people in Lebanon.
Yesterday, a series of airstrikes, without warning, targeted densely populated areas in Beirut's central district, marking the third significant attack on the city center since September 23th. 22 people were killed and hundreds more injured, according to national authorities.
We reiterate the urgent need for all parties to fully respect international humanitarian law. Parties must take constant care to spare civilians and civilian objects – including homes and essential infrastructure -- throughout their military operations.

Occupied Palestinian Territory
The World Food Programme (WFP) reports that critical aid lifelines into northern Gaza have been cut off.
No food aid has entered since 1 October.
The main crossings into northern Gaza have been closed and will be inaccessible if this escalation continues.
WFP distributed its last remaining food stocks in northern Gaza to partners and kitchens sheltering newly displaced families - but these are barely enough to last two weeks. Many of those kitchens, distribution points and bakeries were either forced to shut down, and others are at risk of shutting down if the conflict continues at this scale. 
The situation is at breaking point as well in the South of Gaza.
There are no food distributions, and bakeries are struggling to secure wheat flour, which puts them at risk of shutting down any day.
Aid entering Gaza is at its lowest level in months. No one has received food parcels in this month due to constrained access of aid supplies.
Despite the challenges, humanitarian organizations are responding to the best of their ability. The UN Relief and Works Agency [UNRWA] and NGO partners are distributing bread, ready-to-eat or cooked meals, as well as flour, in and beyond designated shelters.
Yesterday, our colleagues from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs visited the school-turned-shelter of Al Rufaida, in Deir al Balah, where an Israeli airstrike had killed multiple people, including women and children. The assessment team noted the destruction or damage to three classrooms, 20 tents, five bathrooms, three water tanks, and the belongings of more than 60 families. This assessment has served to trigger and prioritize urgent humanitarian response to people’s needs.
Once again, OCHA calls for all parties to the conflict to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law, including by taking constant care to spare civilians and civilian objects.
UNICEF says sudden displacement orders in northern Gaza are once again forcing tens of thousands of vulnerable children onto the roads. In a statement yesterday, the agency said that children are being condemned time and again to unimaginable suffering, horror and death. OCHA warns that most displacement is now occurring in the north, where no tents are available to support newly displaced families.
The latest developments in North Gaza governorate have forced the suspension of protection services, the closure of malnutrition treatment services benefiting about 1,000 children, and the shutting down of five temporary learning spaces managed by our partners for more than 750 children. Kamal Adwan Hospital is seeing an influx of trauma injuries.
And turning to the West Bank, OCHA reports that recurrent operations there by Israeli forces over the past year have caused major damage to critical infrastructure, including systems critical to water, sanitation and hygiene. As a result, access to clean water and sanitation services has been compromised for nearly 92,000 people in the West Bank.

Ukraine
From Ukraine, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tells us that humanitarian organizations continue to provide assistance to people in the south of the country following attacks over the past five days.
Yesterday, a late-night attack in Odesa region killed four people, including a 16-year-old girl, and injured 10 more civilians. Authorities also reported damage to residential buildings.
Aid workers are delivering emergency shelter kits to cover damage. The Ukrainian Red Cross Society provided first aid to the affected people, complementing the efforts of the first responders.
Meanwhile, our humanitarian partners continue to deliver assistance to front-line communities in the south.
Today, an inter-agency convoy delivered more than 11 metric tonnes of food, hygiene supplies and mattresses to the community of Kutsurub in the Mykolaiv Region, which is experiencing continuous shelling. This is the third inter-agency convoy to support front-line communities this week after convoys to the regions of Kharkiv and Kherson.

South Sudan
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) is alarmed by reports of a series of violent clashes between armed actors in the greater Juba area of Central Equatoria state, which resulted in the deaths of 24 people, including 19 civilians.
UNMISS has intensified patrols across Central Equatoria and is engaging with state and local authorities as well as community leaders to access the area and prevent further escalations.
Also, related to South Sudan, the UN Refugee Agency said today that the country is now hosting over half a million refugees across 30 locations. Fueled by ongoing conflict in Sudan, this figure has almost doubled since 2023, underscoring the growing impact of the crisis across the region.
UNHCR and South Sudan’s Commission for Refugees Affairs - under the Ministry of Interior and other partners - continue to support new arrivals and the local communities receiving them. UNHCR underscores that while funding for South Sudan remains generous, resources to fully meet people’s needs are still significantly low. As of October 2024, UNHCR’s activities in the country were only 47 per cent funded.

West and Central Africa Floods
Turning to West and Central Africa, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that the number of people affected by flooding in the region continues to grow – with 6.6 million people in 16 countries.
Chad, with1.9 million affected people, Niger, with 1.3 million, Nigeria, with 1.2 million and the Democratic Republic of the Congo with 1.1 million, are the most affected countries.
We and our humanitarian partners continue to support the response efforts, including by providing food, clean water, cash assistance, sanitation, shelter support and medical supplies across the region.
As of last week, our partners and government authorities report that 980,000 people have been displaced. With hundreds of schools and health facilities damaged or destroyed, people’s access to basic social services has also been curtailed.
Some 700,000 hectares of farmland has been damaged and around 120,000 head of cattle killed. This will further aggravate the food security and nutrition crisis in the region.
The Acting Emergency Relief Coordinator, Joyce Msuya, has allocated $35 million so far this year from the Central Emergency Response Fund to support the humanitarian response to flooding in five of the affected countries – Chad, Congo, the DRC, Niger and Nigeria. More funding is urgently needed to prevent further deterioration of the humanitarian situation.

UNHCR
The UN Refugee Agency said that since the launch, a decade ago, of their IBelong campaign, more than half a million people around the world who were deprived of their right to nationality, have now acquired citizenship.
This is according to a new report on statelessness released today by UNHCR.
Much more information is available online

International Days
Today is the International Day of the Girl Child.
In his message, the Secretary-General says that girls already have a vision of a world where they can thrive. It is time for the world to step up and help transform their vision and aspirations into reality.
Tomorrow is World Migratory Bird Day. The theme this year is “Protect Insects, Protect Birds.”
And on Sunday, we will mark the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction. In his message, the Secretary-General says that no one is safe, but children are particularly vulnerable, adding that we owe it to future generations to shape a safer, more resilient tomorrow.