HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
TUESDAY, 2 APRIL 2024
SYRIA/IRANIAN PREMISES
The Secretary-General condemns the attack on diplomatic premises of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Damascus, as well as the reported casualties.
He reaffirms that the principle of the inviolability of diplomatic and consular premises and personnel must be respected in all cases in accordance with international law.
Mr. Guterres also reminds all parties to respect all their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, as applicable. He also repeats his calls on all concerned to avoid attacks that could harm civilians and damage civilian infrastructure.
The Secretary-General further calls on all concerned to exercise utmost restraint and avoid further escalation.
He cautions that any miscalculation could lead to broader conflict in an already volatile region, with devastating consequences for civilians who are already seeing unprecedented suffering in Syria, Lebanon, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and the broader Middle East.
And this afternoon, the Security Council will hold a briefing on these developments. Khaled Khiari, the Assistant Secretary-General for Middle East, Asia and the Pacific in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations, will brief Council members.
SYRIA
The United Nations is alarmed by the impact of recent hostilities on civilians in the north-west of the country during the month of Ramadan.
Yesterday, shelling struck residential neighbourhoods in Sarmin in Idlib, killing a seven-year-old girl and injuring nearly a dozen other people, including three women and three children. The shelling also damaged a school.
On Sunday, a car bomb struck a popular market in Azaz, in northern Aleppo – killing at least eight people, including children and a pregnant woman, and injuring many others.
The Deputy Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis, David Carden, expressed his condolences to the families of those affected and underscored that civilians must never be targets.
Since the start of the year, at least 11 people, including two girls, have been killed by hostilities in north-west Syria. Some 50 others have been injured, including 16 children, according to local health authorities.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
This afternoon, the Secretary-General will speak at the General Assembly session on human security.
He will talk about his recent Ramadan solidarity visit to Egypt and Jordan and will reiterate the need for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages.
The Secretary-General will also talk about the need to ensure human security in the face of threats like climate change and the global cost-of-living crisis.
WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN
The Secretary-General extends his condolences to the staff of World Central Kitchen following the killing of its staff members in Gaza who were on a humanitarian mission.
The multiplicity of such events is the inevitable result of the way this war is being conducted.
The United Nations re-affirms, yet again, the need for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.
Also, the UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza, Sigrid Kaag, has just come out of Gaza. Yesterday, she met the World Central Kitchen team members who, hours later, were tragically killed by the Israeli Forces. She is appalled by this attack and joins others in expressing condolences to their families and loved ones.
For his part, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, described the aid workers as heroes killed while trying to feed starving people.
At least 196 humanitarians have been killed since October in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which is one of the world’s most dangerous and difficult places to work.
GAZA
The World Health Organization said today that attempts to access Al-Shifa hospital are ongoing. Over the past two weeks, five requests to evacuate patients and staff from the hospital were denied or delayed. WHO said that Al Shifa – once a cornerstone of Gaza’s health system – is now an empty shell.
Attacks on health care and the militarization of hospitals in Gaza are unacceptable. Health workers and facilities must be protected so that civilians can receive life-saving care.
LEBANON
The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) reports that peacekeepers continue to carry out their mandated activities along the Blue Line. Despite increased tensions and last weekend’s incident, in which three military observers serving with the Mission and one national language assistant were wounded, peacekeepers continue to patrol and use the Mission’s liaison and coordination mechanisms to de-escalate and reduce tensions within their mandate.
The UN reiterates the urgent need for all parties to cease hostile actions, and to return to a cessation of hostilities under the framework of Security Council resolution 1701 (2006).
HAITI
The United Nations and its partners continue to provide emergency assistance to people affected by the crisis in Port-au-Prince.
Yesterday, the World Food Programme supplied more than 30,000 hot meals to displaced people in the capital – the largest number of meals delivered in a single day since the start of the crisis. WFP also provided 79,000 school meals to students in the Gonaïves area, in the north, and cash transfers to 1,200 people in Jérémie, in the south. The ongoing violence in Port-au-Prince is also impacting people outside the capital, as air transportation and maritime services – which are key to transport aid across the country – are heavily impacted.
Over the weekend, the WFP and its partners were able to charter a boat from Port-au-Prince to Gonaïves.
The shipment contained medicines and medical supplies for more than 100 health partners in the northern region and food to replenish dozens of distribution centres in the north-west department, including in schools and hospitals.
Meanwhile, the continuing insecurity in Port-au Prince also continues to push people to leave the capital and find refuge in neighbouring departments. The International Organization for Migration reports that between 8 - 27 March, more than 53,000 people left Port-au-Prince. The majority of them are heading towards the Grand Sud departments. The humanitarians emphasize that these departments do not have sufficient infrastructure and host communities do not have sufficient resources to cope with the large number of people fleeing the capital.
SOUTH SUDAN
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) says that the recently established temporary base in Maper, Lakes State, is fully operational and peacekeepers are regularly patrolling across Rumbek north county.
The UN Mission notes that this is critical given a spike in cross-border communal tensions since last year between Lakes and Warrap states. As a reminder, the temporary base aims to boost civilian protection, facilitate safe delivery of humanitarian aid, and create a secure environment to help address root causes of longstanding grievances among bordering communities. The UN Mission Force Commander, Mohan Subramanian, recently visited the temporary base where he met state and county authorities, South Sudanese uniformed personnel as well as peacekeepers currently stationed there.
He stressed that the Mission is committed to protecting civilians, and noted the need for collective efforts to address the root causes of conflict between neighbouring states, particularly as South Sudan approaches elections.
UKRAINE
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says as hostilities and attacks on critical infrastructure continue, aid workers are providing support to people across the country – including in frontline areas.
Today we, along with the partners, delivered clean water, sanitation and hygiene supplies to Kurakhove Town in the Donetsk Region, in eastern Ukraine. Local partners will distribute the supplies from this interagency convoy to hundreds of families impacted by the war.
The UN is determined to continue enhancing the capacity of local aid organizations. Last year, the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund allocated more than $180 million to about 50 humanitarian partners in Ukraine.
These grants ensured that aid workers were able to provide life-saving assistance to some 3.2 million people, including women, girls, and people with disabilities.
SENIOR PERSONNEL APPOINTMENTS
Today, the Secretary-General, following consultation with the Bureau of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), is announcing the appointment of Astrid Schomaker of Germany as the Executive Secretary of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
The Secretary-General extends his appreciation and gratitude to David Cooper of the United Kingdom, who will continue to serve as Acting Executive Secretary until Ms. Schomaker assumes her functions. Ms. Schomaker brings to the position extensive experience in international relations and negotiations.
Since 2017, she has successively been the Director for Global Sustainable Development and for Green Diplomacy and Multilateralism at the European Commission’s Environment Department.
And the Secretary-General is also appointing Ana Peyró Llopis of Spain as Acting Special Adviser and Head of the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh/ISIL (UNITAD). Ms. Peyró Llopis will succeed Christian Ritscher of Germany, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his service. Ms. Peyró Llopis will lead UNITAD during the final stage of its mandate, until its closure in September 2024.
Ms. Peyró Llopis brings to the position more than twenty years of experience in the field of international law and international criminal law, including roles in the United Nations and in the Government of Spain.
