HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
TUESDAY, 25 JUNE 2024
HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS
Let me start with this morning. The Secretary-General addressed, by video message, the Humanitarian Affairs Segment of the Economic and Social Council.
He said that conflict, disregard for the rules of war, and a runaway climate crisis are creating appalling human suffering.
Across the world, he said, these factors are driving vast levels of humanitarian need – including record levels of hunger and displacement, adding that for millions of people facing this, the only ray of hope is humanitarian aid.
However, Mr. Guterres said that humanitarian efforts are being undermined by a shortfall in funding, and by the intimidation that many humanitarian workers face when doing their jobs.
The Secretary-General called on all Member States to provide the funding needed for our humanitarian plans, as a matter of urgency.
DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL
In Dalian, in China, today, the Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, opened the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2024. She spoke on “What to Expect from Future Growth.”
In her remarks, she emphasized that accelerating action and investment in the Sustainable Development Goals is the best path for ensuring inclusive and long-term growth. She also underscored the importance of transforming global food systems for addressing various challenges, including climate change, biodiversity loss, hunger and poverty, and public health concerns.
In addition, she convened a select group of business executives around the Global Africa Business Initiative and on transforming foods systems at the national level.
More on the Deputy Secretary-General’s activities online.
MIDDLE EAST
Back here, Tor Wennesland, the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, briefed the Security Council via videoconference this morning, and he said that the ongoing hostilities in Gaza are further fueling regional instability.
He said that there must be an immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and an immediate humanitarian ceasefire – that there is a deal on the table, and it should be agreed.
Today’s briefing covers events happening up until 10 June.
He said that effective mechanisms for humanitarian notification, safe conditions for humanitarian operations, and sufficient access to humanitarian needs remain sorely lacking and must be put in place without delay. The UN, he said, welcomes the opportunity to clarify with the IDF on how the current situation can be improved.
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that access constraints, security concerns, and the breakdown of public order and safety continue to hamper the delivery of essential humanitarian assistance, affecting hundreds of thousands of people in need.
OCHA also flags that persistent fuel shortages continue to hinder aid operations and the functioning of critical water, sanitation, health and other facilities in the Gaza Strip. Since the beginning of this year, the amount of diesel and benzene fuel entering Gaza on a monthly basis is just 14 per cent of levels prior to October 2023 – that’s 2 million litres compared to the 14 million litres that used to enter Gaza during that time frame.
Just one example of the impact of these shortages was Sunday’s announcement by the Director of the Kuwait Field Hospital in Khan Younis that its main electricity generator had stopped functioning, due to the lack of fuel, and that the facility was now relying on a secondary generator to maintain operations.
Our health partners report that given the critical situation in Gaza, their focus continues to be on lifesaving and limb-saving operations. However, there are currently no conditions in place to bring in prostheses or deploy special medical teams to assist amputees – many of whom are children and adolescents.
Meanwhile, UNRWA - the UN Relief and Works Agency – said that a school in northern Gaza was hit last night, reportedly killing 12 people and injuring 22 others.
SECURITY COUNCIL
The Security Council will hold a briefing and consultations on Syria at 3 p.m. this afternoon. These briefings will be presented by Najat Rochdi, our Deputy Special Envoy for Syria and Ramesh Rajasingham, the Director of the Coordination division at OCHA.
AFGHANISTAN
The Spokesman presented an update on Afghanistan and the third meeting of Special Envoys, which will take place in Doha, Qatar, on 30 June and 1 July. As you know, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, will chair the meeting on behalf of our Secretary-General.
The meeting will discuss how to advance international engagement on Afghanistan in a more coherent, coordinated, and structured manner.
The meeting follows talks in Doha in May 2023 and February of this year. It will provide for direct discussions between the Special Envoys on Afghanistan of countries from the region and around the world and the de facto authorities in Afghanistan. Some 30 countries and international institutions have been invited to participate.
The Doha meeting will discuss the independent assessment on engagement with Afghanistan submitted to the Security Council in November 2023.
On 2 July in Doha, Ms. DiCarlo and Special Envoys are set to meet with representatives of Afghan civil society, including human rights organizations and women’s rights advocates. The Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), Roza Otunbayeva, will also take part in all of the Doha discussions.
Ahead of the meeting, Ms. DiCarlo said that Doha discussions are part of a process; they are not a one-off.
She added that the ultimate objective of this process is an Afghanistan at peace with itself and its neighbors, fully integrated in the international community and meeting its international obligations, including on human rights, and especially on the rights of women and girls.
Ms. DiCarlo said that at this week’s meetings, the multiple challenges facing the Afghan people would be discussed, noting that there will also be an opportunity to explore avenues for further principled engagement with the de facto authorities for the benefit of all Afghan people.
HAITI
The Secretary-General welcomes the arrival today in Port-au-Prince of the first Kenyan contingent of the Multinational Security Support mission (MSS) to support the Haitian National Police. He appeals to all Member States to ensure that the mission receives the financial support it needs to successfully implement its mandate.
Mr. Guterres is following closely the progress in the transitional governance arrangements to restore the country’s democratic institutions through peaceful, credible, participatory and inclusive elections.
The UN, through our Integrated Office in Haiti - BINUH - alongside relevant agencies, funds and programmes, will continue to support Haiti and its people on the path to elections.
And staying in Haiti, on the humanitarian situation, I can tell you that with the resumption of flights at the Port-au-Prince airport - last May – it has allowed aid organizations to airlift medicine, goods and other equipment that are critical to the emergency humanitarian operations.
On June 21st, Médecins Sans Frontières airlifted 80 metric tonnes of medicine and equipment for its operations in the capital. Since last month, the World Food Programme has operated four cargo flights to service its own, as well as its partners’ operations. The flights included medicine, medical equipment and supplies to be prepositioned for the ongoing hurricane season. In the past few weeks, WFP also [started to transition] from distributing hot meals to providing cash to thousands of families living in displacement sites in the greater metropolitan area of the capital, Port-au Prince.
Despite aid organizations scaling up their operations, humanitarian needs remain high in the capital and across the country.
For example, UNICEF says it is concerned about the living conditions of some 33,000 people who have been displaced from the capital to Leogane, a city about 40 km from Port-au-Prince.
As a reminder, some 5.5 million people need humanitarian assistance in the country and 578,000 men, women and children are displaced within their own country.
The $674 million Humanitarian Response Plan for Haiti is just 23.5 per cent funded, with $158 million in the bank.
VENEZUELA
Following the completion of a technical assessment, the Secretariat of the United Nations has responded positively to the request of the National Electoral Council of Venezuela to deploy a UN Panel of Electoral Experts for the July 2024 presidential elections.
A team of four independent experts will deploy to the country in early July to provide the Secretary-General with an independent internal report of the overall conduct of the elections. The Panel’s report to the Secretary-General will be confidential and will include recommendations to strengthen future electoral processes in Venezuela.
A Panel of Experts is one of the various types of electoral assistance that we may provide to Member States at their request.
Unlike a UN electoral observation missions, which require a specific mandate by the Security Council or the General Assembly and are extremely rare, Panels of Electoral Experts do not issue evaluative public statements on the overall conduct of the electoral process or their results. Without a mandate, we cannot observe or publicly assess a member state election and therefore the Panel of Experts will not issue a public judgment.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the UN peacekeeping mission – MONUSCO – has now closed its Bukavu office, which has been the nerve centre of its South Kivu operations for the last 20 years.
At the end of the month, the mission will complete its withdrawal from South Kivu. This will also mark the end of the first phase of its disengagement from the country, as agreed to with the Congolese government.
UKRAINE
In Ukraine, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that we, along with our partners continue to provide emergency response across the country.
The town of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk Region sustained another deadly attack yesterday. According to authorities, more than 40 civilians, were killed or injured in the attack, which also caused extensive damage to homes and other civilian facilities.
A health NGO provided medical assistance to about a dozen civilians who sustained severe injuries. The response continues today, with aid organizations delivering material to help people rebuild their homes.
Furthermore, over the last few days, aid organizations continued to provide emergency assistance in Odesa City and in the western regions of Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv and Volyn following latest strikes in Ukraine.
NIGERIA
In Nigeria, humanitarians say they are alarmed by the rising malnutrition levels in the country’s north-east.
Nearly a quarter of a million children are estimated to be at risk of severe acute malnutrition during the current lean season.
Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths has allocated $11 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to support the provision of cash and other assistance – including treatment for acutely malnourished children. An additional $11 million for the response will come from the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund.
These allocations will help address the crisis in the short term, but additional money is needed urgently to maintain response efforts through September, when the lean seasons ends.
Meanwhile, the 2024 humanitarian appeal for Nigeria remains also severely under-sourced. The plan is just over 20 per cent funded, with roughly $190 million received of the nearly $927 million requested.
SOUTH SUDAN
The peacekeeping mission in South Sudan – UNMISS – has intensified patrols and engagement with local authorities and security services in Unity State and neighbouring Ruweng Administrative Area, following clashes over the weekend that resulted in deaths and destruction of property.
Peacekeepers also increased patrols in Pariang, in northern Unity, where civilians were reportedly moving away from the town due to fears of retaliatory attacks. Peacekeeping were also in other parts of Unity state.
Nicholas Haysom, the Head of UNMISS, has urged national and local authorities to ensure that armed youth refrain from further confrontation, stressing the need to resolve outstanding issues through dialogue, and to swiftly de-escalate tensions.
DAY OF SEAFARERS
Today is the international day of the seafarer.
It is a reminder that without seafarers there would be no shipping and shipping is a lifeline for global trade. In his message for the Day, the Secretary-General warns that attacks on international shipping routes and acts of piracy are unacceptable and ships and seafarers must not be held hostage or hijacked.
GUESTS TODAY AND TOMORROW
The guests at the noon briefing were Máximo Torero, Chief Economist of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and Arif Husain, Chief Economist of the World Food Programme (WFP).
They briefed reporters virtually on the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) update on Gaza.
Tomorrow, the guests at the noon briefing will be Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the head of the Peace Operations department, and the UN Police Adviser, Commissioner Faisal Shahkar.
They will brief reporters on the fourth UN Chiefs of Police Summit, otherwise known by the acronym UNCOPS 2024, which will take place at UN Headquarters from 26 to 27 June.
