HAITI
Good afternoon. The Secretary-General strongly condemns the continued gang violence and loss of life in Haiti, where an armed gang is reported to have killed at least 184 people, including 127 elderly men and women, between 6 and 8 December in the Wharf Jérémie neighborhood in Cité Soleil in the capital of Port-au-Prince. He expresses his deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims of this horrific act.
The Secretary-General calls on the Haitian authorities to conduct a thorough investigation and ensure that perpetrators of these and all other human rights abuses and violations are brought to justice.
The Secretary-General reiterates his pressing call to Member States to provide the Multinational Security Support mission the financial and the logistical support required to successfully assist the Haitian National Police in addressing gang violence. He also calls on all Haitian stakeholders to accelerate progress in the political transition.
VENEZUELA
Just staying in the western hemisphere, on Venezuela, I just want to say that the Secretary-General is aware of reports of raids by Venezuelan security personnel on buildings around the Argentine embassy in Caracas.
The Secretary-General recalls the principle of the inviolability of diplomatic and consular premises. This principle must be respected in all cases, in accordance with international law.
Any violation of this principle would jeopardize the pursuit of normal international relations, which are critical to the advancement of cooperation between States.
SYRIA
Turning to Syria, I think you all saw the statement the Secretary-General issued yesterday, in which he said that after 14 years of brutal war and the fall of the dictatorial regime, the people of Syria can seize an historic opportunity to build a stable and peaceful future.
There is much work to be done to ensure an orderly political transition to renewed institutions, he added, and reiterated his call for calm and avoiding violence at this sensitive time. He also stressed that the support of the international community is needed to ensure that any political transition is inclusive and comprehensive and that it meets the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people. He added that Syria’s sovereignty, unity, independence and territorial integrity must be restored.
The Secretary-General also underscored that the UN remains committed to helping Syrians build a country where reconciliation, where justice, and where freedom and prosperity are shared realities for all.
For his part, our Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, is currently back in Geneva, continuing discussions with key international actors. He is scheduled to brief the Security Council by VTC this afternoon at 3 p.m. in closed consultations about his efforts. The Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, will also be briefing the Council at that time, also by VTC.
Over the weekend, Mr. Pedersen issued statements - which we shared with you - on the events in Syria and highlighting his engagements in Doha with relevant stakeholders.
Further details regarding forthcoming convenings in Geneva will be shared by Mr. Pedersen’s office as the happen and in due course.
SYRIA/HUMANITARIAN
On the humanitarian front in Syria, our colleagues tell us that more than 16 million people already require humanitarian assistance in Syria, which is a huge proportion of the population that remains and as the situation continues to unfold, OCHA says that there is an urgent need for more shelter, food, and sanitation facilities.
According to our partners, since November 28th and as of yesterday, some 1 million people – mostly women and children – have been displaced, particularly from Aleppo, Hama, Homs and Idlib governorates.
It is important to note that the situation is very fluid, with reports of more people returning in the last couple of days.
Transportation routes have been disrupted, limiting the movement of people and goods – as well of course as the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Some looting of civilian properties and factories, as well as warehouses holding humanitarian supplies, has been reported.
Despite the challenges and the volatile situation, we and our partners continue to provide emergency aid. In north-west Syria, all humanitarian organizations in Idlib and northern Aleppo have resumed regular operations, and the three border crossings from Türkiye - used by the us to deliver assistance into Syria – have remained open.
In the north-east, we are providing supplies for those who recently fled Aleppo.
And in Aleppo, we are providing basic assistance including food, health and nutrition services, and support for access to clean water.
On the health front, health facilities are overwhelmed, as one can imagine, with major hospitals operating at limited capacity due to shortages of staff, shortage of medicine and a shortage of supplies. Our health partners continue to provide critical services in impacted areas, including providing trauma care kits. They have also deployed medical units in reception centres and schools across Raqqa, Tabqa and Al-Hasakeh. UNICEF and UNFPA have deployed mobile teams and established fixed clinics in Homs. In north-west Syria, all 24 health facilities that had suspended operations recently resumed services, though others remain non-functional including for the lack of funding.
Sufficient funding will be critical for us and our partners to scale up the response to meet the level of needs. The $4 billion Humanitarian Response Plan is just over 30 per cent funded with $1.3 billion received so far. It goes without saying that the needs, the humanitarian needs for funding are just increasing as we speak.
OCHA reiterates that the parties must facilitate safe and unimpeded humanitarian operations to reach people in need wherever they are.
SYRIA/REFUGEES
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, said in a statement today that Syria is at a crossroads – between peace and war, stability and lawlessness, reconstruction or further ruin.
He added that there is a remarkable opportunity for Syria to move toward peace and for its people to begin returning home. But with the situation still uncertain, millions of refugees are carefully assessing how safe it is to do so. Some are eager, while others are hesitant.
UNHCR’s advice is to remain focused on the issue of returns. Patience and vigilance will be necessary, hoping that developments on the ground will evolve in a positive manner, allowing voluntary, safe and sustainable returns to finally occur – with refugees able to make informed decisions.
As the situation evolves, UNHCR will monitor developments, engage with refugee communities, and support States in any organized voluntary returns.
The UN calls on donors to ensure that UNHCR and its partners have the resources to respond swiftly and effectively, including in neighbouring countries still hosting millions of refugees. These countries need international support to sustain their exceptional solidarity and generosity. And resources need to be provided as flexibly as possible to allow for assistance to be provided where it is most needed.
UNHCR stands ready to support Syrians wherever they are. We urge all parties to act now to ensure this moment becomes a turning point toward hope, recovery, and lasting peace and stability for the Syrian people.
LEBANON
Turning to Lebanon, The UN Interim Force in Lebanon, our peacekeeping colleagues, UNIFIL, tell us strikes by the Israel Defense Forces against what it stated were Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon over the weekend, with several fatalities reported - Lebanese and IDF. There are also reports that the IDF struck targets along the Lebanon-Syria border.
UNIFIL once again calls on all parties to refrain from hostile actions.
UNIFIL also tells us that the new monitoring mechanism envisaged under the cessation of hostilities met today for the first time in Lebanon. We will be providing more details as we get them. As previously stated, the United Nations - including UNIFIL and the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon - will support this mechanism and the cessation of hostilities, within the mandate of Security Council resolution 1701.
LEBANON/HUMANITARIAN
And on the humanitarian front, our OCHA colleagues tell us they continue to closely monitor the movements of people. We also continue to support the humanitarian response, which is now focusing on meeting the needs of displaced people who have started to return to their communities, as well as of those who remain displaced or still on the move, host communities and those who remained in hard-to-reach areas throughout the conflict.
The World Health Organization says that while the cessation of hostilities provides a much-needed respite, health needs in the country remain overwhelming. Health services have been severely impacted, and the widespread damage to water, sanitation, and municipal infrastructure heightening the risk of disease outbreak.
Vaccination coverage has plummeted, leaving children vulnerable to preventable diseases, while thousands of individuals with life-changing traumatic injuries urgently require reconstructive surgery. WHO and its partners continue to support the health response and the rehabilitation and reopening of hospitals.
For its part, UNICEF continues to address the needs of children and families impacted by the ongoing crisis, including preventing family separation and reuniting identified unaccompanied children with their families.
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
Turning to Gaza, our colleagues with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs inform us that in North Gaza governorate, Israeli strikes and shelling have been reported in Beit Lahiya and Jabalya in recent days. The World Health Organization said that 33 people were reportedly killed just outside Kamal Adwan Hospital on Friday, amid intense bombardment and hostilities nearby. You may remember that, last week, we reported the arrival of an international Emergency Medical Team at this hospital – the first such arrival in 60 days. Dr. Tedros, the Director-General of WHO confirmed that the deployed team had to leave for safety as panic spread, with displaced people, caregivers, and many injured patients fleeing the hospital, which is one of the last lifelines for people in northern Gaza.
WHO is also urgently calling for the immediate protection of healthcare facilities.
We and our humanitarian partners continue to face severe access constraints, particularly in our efforts to access North Gaza governorate – which has been under siege for more than two months. The Israeli authorities denied our requests to carry out three humanitarian missions to the North today – we were hoping to bring food and water back to Jabalya, Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya, where civilians are in desperate need of support.
In the south, OCHA says that more than 80,000 human beings have returned to the Ma’an and Bani Suheila neighbourhoods east of Khan Younis over the past seven months. That’s what a rapid assessment mission yesterday. Those returning have endured at least four rounds of displacement since May this year, when the Israeli military operation in and around Rafah area began.
Many are living in severely damaged homes or makeshift shelters prone to collapse, especially in winter, with significant water shortages due to the destruction of critical infrastructure.
We and our humanitarian partners are mobilizing humanitarian assistance for people in these areas, despite critical supply shortages.
UKRAINE
Moving to Ukraine, our humanitarian colleagues tell us that in recent days, the front-line regions of Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia have been hardest hit, with attacks killing or injuring dozens of civilians, including several children, that’s what local authorities are telling us. Our humanitarian colleagues note that homes and civilian infrastructure – including schools and gas pipelines – have also been damaged or destroyed, adding to the daily hardship for Ukrainians as winter temperatures continue to drop.
Aid workers are providing hot meals, drinks and psychosocial support, as well as shelter kits and supplies to fix damage to people’s homes.
Humanitarians in Ukraine are increasingly concerned about disruptions to water and heating services in the front-line regions of Donetsk, Kharkiv and Sumy.
Repairs and winter support are urgently needed to help vulnerable populations this winter.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
Back here in the Security Council, Bintou Keita, the Head of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – briefed Council members.
She commended recent progress made in the Luanda process. She also welcomed the forthcoming summit, organized by Angola on 15 December and with the Heads of State of the DRC and Rwanda. She told Council members that this will be an opportunity to mark the progress accomplished in the stabilization of Congo’s east.
However, Ms. Keita added, the months since her last presentation to Council members were marked by political tensions around calls to revise the Constitution, and the continued and escalating insecurity in North Kivu area.
As the Council prepares to determine the peacekeeping mission’s new mandate, Bintou Keita reiterated her commitment to a gradual and responsible disengagement of the mission.
She said the DRC government and the peacekeeping mission are working jointly on a disengagement approach tailored to territorial security dynamics and civilians’ needs for protection.
CERF PLEDGING CONFERENCE
I want to flag that tomorrow our humanitarian colleagues are organizing an event at 10:00 a.m., which is the annual high-level pledging conference for the Central Emergency Response Fund. That will take place here at HQ.
The pledging conference – which aims to raise funds for CERF in 2025 – will feature a message from the Secretary-General as well as the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, who will deliver remarks and host the event.
So far this year, CERF has allocated more than $550 million to support millions of people who need rapid, life-saving assistance in 42 countries around the world.
As conflict and climate shocks drive humanitarian needs around the world, it is critical that the international community scales up funding to ensure that CERF can continue to support the most vulnerable. In short answer, give cash, give money and give a lot of it. The event will be livestreamed.
INTERNATIONAL DAYS
Today marks the 76th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
In his message, the Secretary-General says that this Convention was adopted in the wake of the unimaginable horrors of the Holocaust.
The Convention is a pledge to the victims and survivors of genocide to ensure that these atrocities never occur again, adding that we must do everything possible to identify early warning signs and sound the alarm.
Today is also International Anti-Corruption Day. The theme for this year is “Uniting with Youth Against Corruption: Shaping Tomorrow's Integrity.”
