HIGHLIGHTS OF THE U.N. SYSTEM,
THURSDAY, 26 SEPTEMBER 2024
Nuclear weapons
The Secretary-General spoke today at a high-level meeting on the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. He said that nuclear weapons are a double madness. The first madness is the existence of weapons that can wipe out entire populations, communities and cities in a single attack. The second madness, he added, is that, despite the enormous and existential risks these weapons pose to humanity, we are no closer to eliminating them than we were 10 years ago.
The Secretary-General asserted that luck is not a strategy. He called on nuclear weapons States to meet their disarmament obligations and he also called on the Russian Federation and the United States to return to the process of nuclear arms reductions, with other nuclear-weapon States following in due course.
Security Council
During a Security Council meeting on the situation between Lebanon and Israel held on Wednesday evening, Secretary-General António Guterres said that the exchanges of fire have been in repeated violation of Security Council Resolution 1701 and the daily use of weapons by non-State armed groups is in violation of Security Council Resolutions 1559 and 1701.
He warned that Lebanon is at the brink, noting that since October, nearly 200,000 people within Lebanon and over 60,000 from northern Israel have fled their homes. “The communities of northern Israel and southern Lebanon must be able to return to their homes, and live in safety and security, without fear,” he added. He also called on all sides to stop the killing and destruction, tone down the rhetoric and threats and step back from the brink.
Lebanon
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs continues to be gravely concerned over the safety of civilians on both sides of the Blue Line.
More than 90,000 people have been newly displaced since 23 September, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), with more than 70,000 people currently sheltering in nearly 400 public schools and other sites. These numbers are expected to increase.
The UN Refugee Agency in Syria estimates that more than that 10,000 people – both Lebanese and Syrians – have already crossed from Lebanon into Syria due the ongoing hostilities. The UN and its partners are providing people with food, water, mattresses and hygiene kits.
The recent escalation of violence is also affecting education, health and other key civilian facilities in Lebanon.
The Ministry of Education has postponed the start of the school year until 14 October, affecting thousands of students across the country.
Airstrikes yesterday damaged four additional water stations, bringing the total number of water stations impacted since October 2023 to 24. More than 250,000 peoples’ access to clean water has been affected.
On the health front, 18 primary healthcare centres were forced to close yesterday due to the fighting.
The UN Population Fund is providing reproductive health and dignity kits to displaced women and girls, while UNICEF has delivered essential supplies, including water, blankets, and hygiene kits, to collective shelters.
The World Food Programme has pre-positioned enough food to support 250,000 people for five days, with the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and IOM also providing mattresses, blankets and additional supplies to support displaced people.
The UN and its humanitarian partners are responding to urgent needs, but they need additional resources to sustain the response.
UNRWA
This afternoon, the Secretary-General will address a ministerial event to support the work of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), saying that UNRWA has been an outpost of hope in the hellscape of Gaza. There is no alternative to UNRWA, he will tell Member States. Now is the time to work on all fronts to intensify support for the agency’s vital mission.
On the human level, Mr. Guterres is to recall that 222 UNRWA colleagues have been killed, many together with entire families, several in the line of duty. This is the highest death toll in UN history. And UNRWA has not been spared on the political level, he will add, including systematic disinformation campaigns that discredit the agency’s lifesaving work.
Sudan
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk today sounded the alarm over the intensified fighting for control of the city of El Fasher in North Darfur, and warned of a growing, horrific toll on civilians.
In the heaviest recent fighting, on 20 to 21 September, at least 20 civilians were killed by artillery shelling near the main market, and many shops were destroyed. The actual number of civilian casualties is believed to be much higher, but telecommunications blackouts have made verification difficult.
In the past two weeks, in addition to rising civilian casualties, the UN Human Rights Office has documented cases of summary executions, sexual and gender-based violence, and reported abductions of at least five women and several young men in El Fasher. There have also been reports of large-scale arbitrary arrests in North and South Darfur by the RSF who accuse civilians of providing information and coordinates of their locations to the SAF.
He called on the international community, including through the Security Council, to take necessary, effective action to protect civilians in Sudan, notably those groups at special risk of targeted violence, and to ensure respect for international law by all parties.
Libya
Stephanie Koury, the Acting Head of the UN Mission in Libya, spoke at the signing ceremony of the Agreement on the Central Bank of Libya.
She said the signing of the agreement today is both positive and promising. It highlights the ability of the Libyan parties to overcome their many challenges when goodwill prevails, she said.
She added that the crisis has shown the imperative for all parties to refrain from unilateral decisions. Such decisions not only escalate tensions, but they also deepen the institutional divisions. Ms. Koury said she looks forward to the reversal and suspension of all unilateral decisions whose harmful impacts persist or may arise in the future.
Ukraine
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that, yesterday and today, relentless hostilities in Ukraine’s front-line region of Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia led to more than 50 civilian casualties, according to UN partners and the authorities.
The attack in Kramatorsk Town in Donetsk region yesterday resulted in civilian casualties, including children, and damaged 20 apartment blocks. Humanitarian organizations provided shelter materials, mental health support, and legal aid to the people affected.
Also yesterday, three Ukrainian Red Cross workers were injured and their car damaged by shelling while delivering aid in the Donetsk region.
To support civilians who remain in devasted communities along the front line in the Donetsk Region, an inter-agency convoy today delivered 12 metric tonnes of aid consisting of food, solar lamps, medical and hygiene supplies.
Maritime Day
Today is World Maritime Day. This year's theme “Navigating the future: safety first!” reflects the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) work to enhance maritime safety and security.
