HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
MONDAY, 16 DECEMBER 2024
Syria/UN Special Envoy
Geir Pedersen, the UN Special Envoy for Syria, remains in Damascus today. Earlier today, he went to Sednaya prison, where he met with mothers of disappeared persons, with people who have been recently liberated from the prison, as well as with lawyers handling these cases.
The Special Envoy and his team remain deeply committed to supporting the families and the survivors, and the work of UN specialized organizations that are focused on truth-seeking, accountability, and prosecutions.
He is continuing with further engagements. Also, today he met with a delegation of the Syrian Negotiations Commission (SNC), including military representatives who have taken part in the recent military operations in Syria.
Yesterday, Mr. Pedersen met with the Commander of the New Administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa’, and the Prime Minister of the Caretaker Government, Mohammed al-Bashir.
In all his engagements today and yesterday, Mr. Pedersen briefed on the outcome of the Aqaba International Meeting on Syria that took place on Saturday [14 December], stressing the need for a credible and inclusive Syrian-owned and Syrian-led political transition based on the principles of Security Council resolution 2254.
The Special Envoy stressed the intention of the United Nations to render all assistance to the Syrian people. The Special Envoy was briefed on their challenges and priorities.
Mr. Pedersen is also scheduled to brief the Security Council tomorrow morning, alongside Tom Fletcher, the Head of our Humanitarian department. Both of them will be briefing from Syria.
Syria/Humanitarian
Mr. Fletcher is in Syria today as part of a one-week trip to the Middle East.
In Damascus, he met with the transitional authorities and will meet with UN partners to discuss the humanitarian response in Syria, where 7 in 10 people continue to need humanitarian aid.
At a time of such rapid changes and long-standing needs in the region, Mr. Fletcher’s trip will also include stopovers in Lebanon, Türkiye and Jordan. We will share updates as they become available.
Meanwhile, our humanitarian colleagues say that since the escalation of the hostilities and as of yesterday, 880,000 people in Syria have been displaced.
The UN and its partners are continuing to support the response. We are supplying food, water, cash, tents, blankets. We are also deploying medical teams as well as medical supplies.
And over the weekend, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in collaboration with UNICEF, conducted a joint mission to the Tishreen Dam’s facility, in Aleppo governorate, to enable urgent and critical repairs to the facilities. UNICEF also secured fuel to power the backup generator, enabling the safe drainage of the dam and safeguarding water supplies.
Hostilities near the dam last week led to extended electricity outages and disrupted water and other key services impacting millions of people in the area who depend on those services.
According to partners, and as of yesterday, over 40,000 displaced people are staying in and around collective centres across north-east Syria.
OCHA reiterates that those fleeing fighting must be allowed to do so safely and to voluntarily return when the situation allows. Whether they leave or stay, people must be protected and able to access essential supplies for their survival.
Lebanon
Turning to the humanitarian situation in Lebanon. According to the International Organization for Migration, more than 900,000 people have begun returning to their areas of origin since the announcement of a cessation of hostilities on 27 November.
However, nearly 179,000 people remain displaced. We and our partners continue to support the response across the country, while the situation is fluid and the movements are fluctuating.
Reverse cross-border movements from Syria into Lebanon have also been observed and some temporary shelters have opened to host those who are coming back.
Meanwhile we and our partners in Lebanon continue to support the Government-led response and deliver food, shelter supplies, water, and hygiene kits to those who need it.
We are also supporting winterization efforts as temperatures begin to plummet, sharing blankets, winter clothing and cash for people to pay for heating.
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Turning to the situation in Gaza, which remains grim, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that new evacuation orders have once again triggered large-scale displacement, leaving civilians exposed to hostilities and deprived of access to vital services.
Israeli authorities issued two evacuation orders on Friday and Saturday. The first affected parts of Gaza City and North Gaza governorate – an area spanning over five-and-a-half square kilometres. The second order affected 4.3 square kilometres in the Deir al Balah area.
In the wake of these evacuation orders, our partners on the ground observed about 250 families moving southward from affected areas in northern Gaza. They report that some 450 families fled the areas in Deir al Balah. The UN and our partners are closely monitoring the situation and attending to the needs of those newly displaced with the limited resources available to us.
In Gaza City, our humanitarian partners tell us that hostilities escalated over the weekend – particularly in areas affected by the new evacuation orders – leaving more Palestinians killed and injured. In East Tuffah, there were reports of a direct strike on the Yaffa school, which had been serving as a collective centre for displaced people.
In North Gaza governorate, more than 1,500 Palestinians were reportedly displaced overnight on Saturday from Izbet Beit Hanoun, forcing them to pass through an Israeli checkpoint toward Gaza City.
Some of those arriving in Gaza City told our humanitarian partners that Israeli forces had surrounded the Khalil Awada schools – which had been turned into shelters housing more than 1,500 people — as well as surrounding homes. Dozens of people were reportedly killed in heavy shelling. We once again condemn all killings of civilians.
OCHA reports that today, three humanitarian missions planning to bring food and water to parts of besieged North Gaza were once again denied by Israeli authorities.
The humanitarian community remains firm in its objection to unilateral designations stipulating where aid work can take place within the Gaza Strip. We are committed to addressing people’s needs whenever and wherever they are and urgently call for unimpeded access for humanitarian organizations to all areas where people require humanitarian assistance.
Libya
This morning, Stephanie Koury, the officer-in-charge of the UN Political Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), briefed the Security Council to announce the details of the UN-facilitated political process in Libya.
Ms. Koury said that the status quo is unsustainable and has persisted for far too long. Unilateral actions pursued by political elites have deeply eroded Libyan institutions into parallel and competing structures.
She said she presented to the Libyan people UNSMIL’s plan for an inclusive, intra-Libyan political initiative to overcome the current political deadlock and move beyond the status quo, towards national elections and the renewal of the legitimacy of Libyan institutions.
As a first step, as she said in her announcement yesterday to the Libyan people, the UN mission intends to convene a technical committee of Libyan experts to develop options to overcome contentious issues in the electoral laws and options to reach elections in the shortest possible time, including with proposed guarantees, assurances and a timeframe.
Sudan
Turning to Sudan, humanitarians note with alarm the rising number of civilian casualties due to attacks in and around El Fasher, in North Darfur State.
Attacks include the repeated shelling of the Zamzam displacement camp since the beginning of this month. The camp hosts hundreds of thousands of people and famine conditions were confirmed there earlier this year.
Local sources report that scores of people were killed over the weekend in an alleged missile strike on central El Fasher. Here again, we condemn all killings of civilians, wherever they occur.
WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros [Adhanom Ghebreyesus] also reported 9 civilian deaths and 20 injuries following an attack on El Fasher’s main hospital that took place on Friday. The hospital is no longer operational.
This is part of a broader escalation of attacks across Darfur and in other areas of Sudan.
OCHA calls once again for an immediate cessation of hostilities so that emergency relief can be provided, and civilians can move to safer locations.
We reiterate that international humanitarian law must be respected. Civilians and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, are not targets.
Tropical Cyclone Chido
Turning to southern Africa, where our humanitarian colleagues are very concerned by the impact of Tropical Cyclone Chido, which made landfall in Mayotte and northern Mozambique over the weekend as a Category 4 cyclone. The cyclone brought heavy rains and destructive winds.
In Mozambique we, along with our humanitarian partners, are working closely with the Government to assess the damage and humanitarian impact. In Cabo Delgado province, humanitarian partners began helping in the city of Pemba just hours after the cyclone made landfall yesterday.
The World Food Programme has already delivered emergency assistance to some 500 cyclone-affected families in temporary accommodation centres in Pemba. Similar distributions are ongoing in Nampula’s Mogincual district under the Anticipatory Action Plan.
For its part, UNICEF and partners are providing water and sanitation supplies to mitigate disease risks as the region is already grappling with a cholera outbreak. Preliminary figures indicate that 140,000 people have been impacted across Cabo Delgado Province where more than 1 million people are already in need of assistance due to the ongoing conflict.
Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that in the most impacted districts – including Mecufi and Metuge – people urgently need shelter, they need water, they need sanitation, hygiene, health and protection assistance. The Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, yesterday allocated $4 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to support early response efforts – however, obviously, more funding is needed.
Central African Republic
The peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic welcomes the second trial verdict, rendered on Friday, 13 December, by the Trial Chamber of the Special Criminal Court (SCC) in the Central African Republic.
Four former armed group leaders were convicted of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in April 2020, in Ndele.
The Mission added that this is a welcome achievement as this Court advances its mandate to fight against impunity in the country and advance transitional justice.
The Court is a national tribunal made up of national and international judges and supported by the international community, including the peacekeeping mission and UNDP.
In accordance with its Security Council mandate, the peacekeeping mission provides support to the Court through justice, corrections and police expertise.
Ukraine
Turning to Ukraine, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tell us that hostilities along the front line caused scores of civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure between 13 and 16 December. According to local authorities, 1,200 people were forced to flee for safety.
As fighting intensifies in the Donetsk Region, humanitarian access is severely impacted. Our humanitarian colleagues note that nearly 12,000 residents remain in the towns of Pokrovsk, Kurakhove and Chasiv Yar, just a few kilometres away from the frontline. Yesterday, nearly 650 people, including 24 children, fled frontline areas of the Donetsk Region.
The local gas operator has suspended services to about11,000 consumers, including families and businesses, in Pokrovsk due to deteriorating security challenges.
The water utility company has also halted delivering drinking water to distribution points in the area.
In Kurakhove, more than 400 people remain in the town, and around 300 residents continue to live in Chasiv Yar, where fighting is most intense. Humanitarian aid delivery to these towns is currently impossible. More than 315,000 people remain in the Ukraine-controlled parts of the Donetsk region.
Despite the challenges, along with our partners, today we sent a humanitarian convoy to Lyman, a front-line community in Donetsk, with hygiene kits, dignity kits, as well as other medical supplies.
In 2024, 13 humanitarian convoys have delivered critical winter assistance and other supplies to nearly 25,000 people in the front-line areas of the Donetsk.
Security Council/afternoon
And just this afternoon, at 3:00 p.m., there will be a Council meeting on Ukraine.
Lisa Doughten, the Director of the Financing and partnership division at OCHA, will brief the Council members.
Haiti
Turning to Haiti, the UN political mission – BINUH - reiterates its call on all political actors to redouble efforts to keep their commitments to move towards the restoration of social peace and the organization of elections for the Haitian people.
The Mission adds that efforts to improve security in the country will only generate lasting progress if they are also accompanied by progress towards the organization of credible, participatory and inclusive elections.
In this period of major uncertainty and emergency, the political mission says, political stability is necessary to improve the overall situation in the country.
In this regard, the UN Mission in Haiti welcomes the continued efforts of CARICOM’s Eminent Personalities and hopes all those involved in the transition will play their full role to ensure its success. This is in accordance with the aspirations, needs and the interests of the Haitian people.
Our mission in Haiti reiterates its firm commitment to support any effort aimed at restoring the confidence of the Haitian people in their authorities, in complete freedom and independence.
Internet Governance Forum
Two recent events took place in Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia.
The first is today’s opening of the Internet Governance Forum. In a video message for the event, the Secretary-General said that digital technology has fundamentally reshaped our world and holds enormous potential to accelerate human progress.
But unlocking this potential for all people requires guardrails, and a collaborative approach to governance, he warned. He also asked countries to work together to keep building an open, free and safe Internet for all.
Desertification
And the second event was the conclusion over the weekend of the 16th COP [Conference of the Parties] of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. After two weeks of intense negotiations, countries committed to prioritize land restoration and drought resilience in national policies and international cooperation. They also made significant progress in laying the groundwork for a future global drought regime, which they intend to complete at COP17, that will take place in Mongolia in 2026. In addition, more than $12 billion was pledged to tackle desertification, land degradation and drought around the world, especially in the most vulnerable countries.
Other agreements reached at the conference include the creation of a Caucus for Indigenous Peoples and a Caucus for Local Communities.
These should ensure that their unique perspectives are represented and the mobilization of private sector engagement under the Business4Land initiative.
Senior Personnel Appointment
Senior personnel announcement.
Our dear friend, Michelle Gyles-McDonnough of Jamaica, is being appointed by the Secretary-General as the Executive Director of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, otherwise known as UNITAR.
She will succeed Nikhil Seth, to whom the Secretary-General expressed his utmost gratitude for his dedication and commitment to the United Nations. Nikhil is also our good friend.
Over the past 30 years, Ms. Gyles-McDonnough has held multiple leadership roles within the United Nations system. She is currently the Director of the Sustainable Development Unit in the Secretary-General’s office.
We congratulate Michelle on her new adventures.
Financial contribution
Panama is the 149th Member State to pay its dues in full to the UN regular budget.
