HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
THURSDAY, 29 AUGUST 2024
**Secretary-General/Travels
The Secretary-General is in Dili, in Timor-Leste today, where earlier today he met with Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão.
In a joint press encounter, the Secretary-General said that Timor-Leste won the battle for independence, and it won the battle for democracy, and that as Secretary-General of the UN, he is proud that the UN stood by the people of Timor-Leste in the struggle for independence and in the consolidation of democracy.
However, he added that the country now must win the battle for development and that the United Nations stands ready by the people to support them and the Government in this effort.
The Secretary-General also visited the Timorese Resistance Archive and Museum, where he saw an exhibit on the role of women in the resistance. He later took part in a panel discussion with both the President, Ramos-Horta, and the Prime Minister, Xanana Gusmão.
Tomorrow, he will address the national parliament and attend the official ceremony to mark the 25th anniversary of the Popular Consultation. From there, he will head to Singapore and then on to China.
**Deputy Secretary-General/Travels
The Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, is in Port Sudan. She just finished her day there.
Ms. Mohammed was accompanied by Ramtane Lamamra, the Personal Envoy for Sudan, as well as the Resident Coordinator for Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, and senior officials from the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Refuge Agency (UNHCR), and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). They met with displaced persons, the UN team, as well as with a number of government officials of Sudan. All this was done in Port Sudan. The visit was aimed at highlighting the humanitarian crisis ongoing in the country.
Tomorrow, the Deputy Secretary-General and her team will head to Adré in Chad, which is the border point from which the UN has been getting some humanitarian aid into Sudan.
**Sudan/Humanitarian
On Sudan, we have an update first on the floods triggered by the collapse of the Arba’at dam near Port Sudan that took place last Sunday.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) notes that there has been extensive damage to, among other things, the freshwater pipeline that supplies the city of Port Sudan. Local authorities also report that some 5 million cubic meters of silt have been released downstream, severely impacting agriculture and water supplies in surrounding areas.
Urgent needs for people affected by the dam burst include food, include shelter and household items. We, along with our partners, are mobilized and have been distributing emergency assistance.
OCHA warns that the damage to the dam has had a serious direct impact that will continue to affect the fresh water supply in Port Sudan for the months to come.
For its part, the World Food Programme (WFP) said today that it is working around the clock to try to deliver food and other humanitarian goods to people throughout Sudan.
WFP’s priority is to provide vital aid across 14 areas in the country to people who are either facing famine or at risk of slipping into famine after 500 relentless days of conflict.
WFP pointed out that since Chad’s Adre border crossing with Sudan was reopened for humanitarian convoys, the food agency trucks carrying over 630 metric tons of food – that’s about enough for 55,000 people – have crossed into Darfur region. The latest crossing was Tuesday (27 August). The WFP says that this food assistance is for communities in Kereneik and Sirba, two areas that are at risk of famine in West Darfur. Some supplies have already arrived in Mornei town in Kereneik while other convoys are still en route.
WFP says that progress of the convoys has been slowed by damaged bridges, as well as flooded and muddy roads as the peak of the rainy season in Sudan approaches.
Trucks carrying about 1,134 metric tons of food – that’s enough for around about 280,000 people – crossed from Chad into Sudan’s Darfur region via the other border crossing, that’s the Tine crossing – that took place on Wednesday and Thursday last week. Distributions of vital food assistance will start as soon as possible in locations across Darfur for communities facing famine or at risk of slipping into famine.
The WFP said that the food assistance had been stranded at the border because of flooded seasonal riverbeds linked to heavy rainfall this year. Floodwaters have receded slightly allowing trucks to move, though progress remains slow because of poor conditions. WFP is also delivering cash assistance to families across Darfur.
**South Sudan
In South Sudan, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) today said that the significant rise in the water levels of the Nile has heightened the need for preparedness, especially in high-risk communities near rivers or swampland.
Peacekeepers are helping State authorities to mitigate risk in the wake of the extreme flood alerts issued for five counties in Jonglei. The UN Mission visited Lankien, in Jonglei State, along with humanitarian colleagues, to assess the impact of the flood and the preparedness operations. They also organized a two-day workshop for community members in a village to help them identify elevated areas to serve as safe zones. The Mission’s peacekeepers also navigated rising waters to evacuate stranded civilians in Kodok, in Upper Nile State, where road access has been cut.
**Occupied Palestinian Territory
Turning to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and starting from the West Bank. In a statement issued last night the Secretary-General said he was deeply concerned by the latest developments in that area, including the launch of large-scale military operations in Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas governorates by the Israeli security forces, that involved airstrikes, which resulted in casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure. He strongly condemns the loss of lives, including that of children.
The Secretary-General said these dangerous developments are fueling an already-explosive situation in the West Bank, further undermining the Palestinian Authority.
He called for the immediate cessation of these operations.
Today, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warns that deadly warfare tactics that seem to exceed international standards for law enforcement are still occurring in the north.
In the governorates of Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas, the number of fatalities, according to what OCHA is receiving, is 15 people in less than two days, with many others injured.
Initial reports suggest that some families have been displaced, particularly in urban areas where Israeli security forces have repurposed homes as military positions. In multiple locations, heavy damage to infrastructure has been caused by military bulldozers. Electricity and telecom outages are also reported.
Meanwhile, there continue to be military operations near hospitals, severely impacting those facilities. An United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) clinic in Al Far’a refugee camp had to suspend operations yesterday, but was able to resume today once the Israeli security forces left that area.
OCHA has convened UN agencies and other UN humanitarian partners working in the West Bank. They stand ready to assess the damage and the people’s needs, and to respond accordingly. Agencies have also warned people of the risk of unexploded ordinances in some areas, and that will be one of the first issues that will need to be addressed.
Meanwhile, on the political end, Tor Wennesland, the Special Coordinator for the UN in the region continues to monitor the ceasefire and hostage release negotiations and to engage regularly with key national, and international and regional actors.
He remains in contact with all relevant parties, reiterating the need to urgently reach a deal and the UN's commitment to support all efforts toward this goal. He has also held high level talks with Israeli security officials regarding the incident involving the World Food Programme (WFP) vehicle that we told you about yesterday. In his discussions, he continues to raise serious concerns about the deteriorating dynamics in the occupied West Bank.
And as we said yesterday, Israeli forces in the West Bank must adhere to international law enforcement standards.
Moving to Gaza, yesterday, the WFP decided to temporarily pause the movement of its employees across the Gaza Strip following the shooting of the vehicle.
Despite the pause in staff movement, WFP continues its life-saving humanitarian operations in Gaza through cooperating partners and hopes to resume its staff missions as soon as the necessary safety and security guarantees from Israeli authorities are received and they feel it is safe to resume the movement of staff.
WFP is committed to staying and to delivering for the people of Gaza, but the incident is a stark reminder of the rapidly and ever-shrinking humanitarian space for our colleagues.
And also, OCHA says that in Gaza, Israeli authorities announced that displaced people could return to specific areas in Deir al Balah. This is the first time where return is officially allowed to an evacuated area. Obviously, the evacuation orders that Palestinians have received numerous times since the beginning of August has severely disrupted our humanitarian work and our ability to work.
Also, last Saturday, the UN team assessed the water, hygiene and sanitation conditions in two sites hosting over 1,200 families in Rafah. People there are struggling with drinking water as no trucking is currently available. They report skin diseases being the main morbidity among women and children, with no treatment available when they go to medical points.
Also, those residing in the areas near, on the beach, in Mawassi, have had sea water flooding their tents.
This afternoon, the Security Council will meet to hear a humanitarian briefing on the area – Joyce Msuya will brief on behalf of OCHA and and Dr. Mike Ryan will also brief on behalf of the World Health Organization (WHO).
**Yemen
I have been asked about the situation in Yemen and the ‘Sounion’ oil tanker, and I can tell you that we are encouraged by reports that the salvage operation for the tanker can proceed, with tugboats and rescue ships to access the incident areas.
This is a necessary step considering the grave risk posed by the fires reported aboard that tanker, which, I remind you, carries 150,000 tonnes of crude oil and it remains anchored in waters in the Red Sea, and the crew had been evacuated.
We commend the ongoing concerted efforts of the international community, including through the work of our Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg’s, and his engagement to the secure immediate access to the vessel and avert an environmental catastrophe.
Once again, we say that Security Council Resolutions 2722 and 2739 must be fully respected in their entirety, and we particularly call on the Houthis to immediately cease attacks against all merchant and commercial ships in the Red Sea.
**Ukraine
On Ukraine, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that attacks on the regions of Dnipro, Donetsk and Kharkiv continued yesterday. Local authorities report dozens of casualties, as well as severe damage to homes and civilian infrastructure.
Local authorities in the Donetsk region, in the east of the country, have declared an emergency evacuation as the situation around the town of Pokrovsk becomes increasingly dire due to the continuing fighting.
OCHA says that some 40,000 residents remain in the town. Banks will remain operational until the end of the week, after which only several ATMs will be available.
Humanitarian organizations continue to assist people in the front-line communities, providing food, household supplies and other essential items.
They are also doing whatever they can to support people fleeing the fighting in the Donetsk and Sumy regions.
**Democratic Republic of the Congo
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) says that one of their long-range patrols came under fire yesterday by members of the CODECO armed group. This happened in Bali, which is northeast of Djugu in the Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Peacekeepers repelled the attack, forcing militia members to withdraw. However, we are sad to report that one peacekeeper was wounded. He is now reportedly in stable condition. Later in the day, another patrol deployed to the area to protect civilians also coming under fire by the same armed group, but no reported casualties. Peacekeepers also deploying in other locations southeast of Djugu, to respond to the establishment of two new positions by the CODECO armed group in the area.
Peacekeepers facilitated the safe passage of the local populations.
**International Day Against Nuclear Tests
Today is the International Day Against Nuclear Tests.
The UN aims, as you know, to reduce and eventually eliminate nuclear weapons. But until then, the International Day is a chance to remember the legacy and destruction left behind by nuclear tests, and to speak up to end this practice once and for all.
The Secretary-General highlights that the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty is the only prohibition on all nuclear testing, and an essential, verifiable security tool—but that Treaty is sadly not yet in force.
He calls on all countries whose ratifications are needed for the Treaty to enter into force to do so immediately and without conditions.
***The guest at the Noon Briefing was Rik Peeperkorn, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). He briefed journalists about the polio vaccine campaign and more generally about the health situation in Gaza and what the UN team is doing to respond.
