Noon briefing of 19 November 2024

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
TUESDAY, 19 NOVEMBER 2024

Secretary-General/G20
Today is the last day of the annual G20 summit.
This morning, in Rio de Janeiro, the Secretary-General addressed a session on Sustainable Development and Energy Transition. Once again, he warned that our climate is at a breaking point, and unless we limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, spiraling disasters will devastate every economy.
The Secretary-General stressed that we must get on track for the 1.5-degree limit, with countries accelerating their near-term emissions cuts. That way, we can reduce global emissions by nine per cent every year this decade. Right now, he added, they’re still rising.
The Secretary-General noted that the next round of national climate action plans is essential to putting the world on the right path. In relation to COP29, he asked countries to instruct ministers and negotiators to agree on a new ambitious climate finance goal this year.
He added that failure is not an option. The Secretary-General warned that this would inevitably make the success of COP30 in Brazil more difficult. 
Yesterday afternoon, the Secretary-General attended a session on Reform of Global Governance Institutions. He warned that we face a global governance deficit and a global trust deficit, with poverty, inequalities, and the climate crisis getting worse, and peace getting further out of reach.
The Secretary-General emphasized that we need global solutions rooted in the UN Charter, but our institutions are not keeping up. He urged G20 countries to lead, reiterating that many decisions are exclusively in their hands. Both remarks have been shared with you.
Later this afternoon, the Secretary-General will leave Brazil and will head back to Baku, Azerbaijan, where the 29th meeting of the Conference of the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is taking place.

Global Initiative on Climate Change
Today, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit we, alongside Brazil, launched the ‘Global Initiative for Information Integrity on Climate Change.’
Mr. Guterres supports this Initiative, he said we will work with researchers and partners to strengthen action against climate disinformation. For her part, the Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, Melissa Fleming, attended the event, and said that this initiative is a chance to turn the tide against the forces of inaction.
Countries committing to the Initiative will contribute to a UNESCO-administered fund, with a goal of raising an initial $10 to $15 million over the next 36 months, to be distributed as grants to non-governmental organizations to support their work to research climate information integrity, develop communication strategies and undertake public awareness campaigns.

UNIFIL
UNIFIL remains concerned about ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and the Israel Defense Forces. UNIFIL peacekeepers report continued clashes, exchanges of fire as well as airstrikes.
Again today, UNIFIL reports three separate incidents impacting peacekeepers in southern Lebanon.
This morning, a patrol moving south from UN Position 9-1 to UN Position 6-41 encountered a roadblock in the village of Khirbat Silim. While bypassing the obstacle, the patrol came under small arms fire from an unknown individual. The patrol managed to continue along the scheduled route without sustaining any casualties.
In a second separate incident, four peacekeepers sustained minor injuries when an artillery shell exploded within UN Position 5-42 near Ramyah. The Mission made a stop fire request and is ascertaining the projectile’s trajectory. The injured personnel were subsequently transferred to UNP 5-66 for medical treatment.
In a third incident, UNIFIL Sector West Headquarters in Shama was impacted by five rockets which struck the maintenance workshop. Although it caused heavy damage to the workshop, no peacekeepers were injured. This was the second time this UNIFIL base was impacted by the ongoing clashes in the area in less than a week. A 155mm live artillery shell hit the base on 15 November.
The UN reminds all parties of their obligations to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and property, and to respect the inviolability of United Nations premises at all times.
Despite these and other challenges, peacekeepers remain in all positions and will continue to impartially monitor and report on violations of resolution 1701.

Lebanon
Jean-Pierre Lacroix, our Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations and the Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert will be briefing the Security Council this afternoon in closed consultations on the 1701 report. This will be followed by the resumption of yesterday’s briefing on the Middle East to hear the remaining speakers.
Meanwhile, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that an airstrike in central Beirut yesterday triggered new displacement. It comes a day after multiple airstrikes also targeted locations in central Beirut without prior warning. Residents and displaced people who had sought refuge there were forced to flee, once again.
The UN reiterates that under international humanitarian law, all parties to the conflict must protect civilians and civilian objects, including civilians in their homes or seeking safety in temporary shelters.
The UN and its partners continue to respond to escalating humanitarian needs. This past week, WFP, together with the Lebanese Red Cross, has provided meals to thousands of newly displaced people in Mount Lebanon and began providing meals to dozens of displaced Palestinian refugees in six UNRWA shelters.
Since September 23^rd of this year, the World Food Programme and its partners have provided more than 7 million meals, rations, and food parcels to displaced people inside and outside shelters.
As hostilities continue, UNESCO said it is deeply concerned by the impact on the cultural sites in Lebanon, such as the World Heritage Sites of Baalbek and Tyre near which Israeli airstrikes have been reported.
UNESCO condemns the targeting of World Heritage sites and reminds all involved parties of their obligations under the 1972 Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, as well as under the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.
Meanwhile, under the auspices of UNESCO and at the request of the Lebanese authorities, an extraordinary session of the Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict was held yesterday, Monday.
Thirty-four Lebanese cultural properties were inscribed on UNESCO’s International List of Cultural Property under Enhanced Protection and to provide international financial assistance.

Occupied Palestinian Territory
Turning to the situation in Gaza, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warns that people in besieged areas of the north have been struggling to stay alive, with virtually no assistance for more than 40 days.
OCHA reports that all attempts by the UN to support people in Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahiya and parts of Jabalya – all of which remain under siege – have been either denied or impeded. This month alone, 27 out of 31 planned missions were rejected – and the other four were severely impeded, meaning they were prevented from accomplishing all of the critical work they set out to do.
To be clear: All attempts by the UN to support people in besieged areas of North Gaza have been denied or impeded. This is happening when the IPC Famine Review Committee said just 11 days ago that parts of northern Gaza face an imminent risk of famine – and that immediate action is needed in days, not weeks.
The result is that bakeries and kitchens in North Gaza governorate have shut down, nutrition support has been suspended, and the refueling of water and sanitation facilities has been completely blocked.
As mass casualty incidents and Israeli bombardment continue, access to the Kamal Adwan, Al Awda and Indonesian hospitals in North Gaza remains severely restricted, amid desperate shortages of medical supplies, blood units and fuel. Attempts by our health partners to deploy an international emergency medical team to scale up capacity continue to be blocked by the Israeli authorities.
On Sunday, OCHA supported a mission led by the World Health Organization to Kamal Adwan Hospital. The team delivered 10,000 litres of fuel and transferred 17 patients, three unaccompanied children, and nearly two dozen caregivers to Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
While the mission was also meant to deliver food and medical supplies to Kamal Adwan, our partners say the team was forced to offload the food at an Israeli military checkpoint before reaching the hospital, and only some of the medical supplies could be delivered the facility.
Regarding the reported killings of alleged looters during an operation led by local Palestinian authorities, the UN is deeply concerned by these reports. Armed looting has become systematic and must end immediately. It is hindering life-saving aid operations and further endangering the lives of our staff. However, the use of force in law enforcement operations must be lawful, necessary and proportionate.

Ukraine
As Ukraine marks 1,000 days since the start of the full-scale invasion by the Russian Federation, the Humanitarian Coordinator Matthias Schmale emphasized the need for continued UN support and international solidarity. He called on the global community to stand with Ukraine and recognize the heroic efforts of first responders, including volunteers.
On the ground, aid workers continue to assist people in Sumy City in the wake of recent attacks that significantly damaged residential areas. Today, another town in the Sumy Region was struck, with local authorities reporting nearly a dozen deaths and multiple injuries after a student dormitory was partially destroyed.
The UN and our partners continue to ramp up humanitarian convoys to address the most urgent needs of front-line communities.
This year alone, 40 such convoys have delivered food, medicine, electric heaters and hygiene kits.
Just today, two convoys reached the regions of Donetsk and Kherson. Since February 2022, more than 170 inter-agency convoys have provided critical assistance to nearly 800,000 people across nine regions.
According to the UN Human Rights Office, more than 12,000 civilians have been killed and nearly 27,000 injured over the past 1,000 days. This includes over 2,400 child casualties.
Humanitarian workers also continue to face significant risks. Just this year, nine aid workers have been killed, with 40 others injured.

Haiti
Turning to Haiti, the Humanitarian Coordinator there, Ulrika Richardson, said in a statement yesterday that the UN and our partners continue to support Haitians despite the escalating violence.
Ms. Richardson said that humanitarian operations continue in the Port-au-Prince region. We and our partners are distributing hot meals, water, hygiene and dignity kits to displaced people. They have also provided medicines and medical supplies to key health facilities. Our WFP colleagues in Haiti tell us that this past weekend, working with their partners, they provided a record number of hot meals in one single day to people recently displaced by violence, serving close to 38,000 hot meals at 26 sites in Port-au-Prince and Arcahaie. So far this year, WFP has provided more than 2 million hot meals prepared, as much as possible, with locally grown and locally procured ingredients.
Operations throughout Haiti also continue without interruption.
Flights operated by the UN Humanitarian Air Service are still expected to resume tomorrow. The helicopter the UN uses in Haiti is registered in the United States and it was granted a humanitarian exemption from the Federal Aviation Administration to resume flights within the country.
The second aircraft is a small plane registered in Switzerland and they are both used to provide passenger and light-cargo transport within Haiti for the entire humanitarian community including local and international NGOs and UN entities. We do not bring humanitarian supplies into the country using UNHAS assets.
Humanitarians need urgent additional resources to maintain operations on the scale needed. The $674 million Humanitarian Response Plan is 43 percent funded with nearly $290 million received.

Tropical Storm Sara
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tells us that Tropical Storm Sara has brought heavy rains and strong winds to Central America, impacting nearly 180,000 people.
Governments across Central America are mobilized.
UN teams in the region, under the leadership of the UN Resident Coordinators, are supporting Government-led efforts on the ground in the areas of coordination, technical assistance and monitoring.
The storm first made landfall on November 14^th near the border of Honduras and Nicaragua, before crossing into Belize on November 17^th [Sunday] and Mexico yesterday.

Philippines
On Super Typhoon Man-Yi, in the Philippines, which is the sixth tropical cyclone to impact the country in a month, the latest typhoon made landfall twice, on November 16^th and 17^th, in the provinces of Catanduanes and Aurora in the east of the country.
The UN and partners are currently conducting assessments to determine the extent of the damage, working closely with the Government to support the response.
According to our partners, the six tropical cyclones that have hit the country have impacted more than 13 million people in 17 out of the 18 regions in the country.
As of today, more than 600,000 people remain displaced, both within and outside evacuation centres.

World Toilet Day
Today is World Toilet Day.
In his message, the Secretary-General says that toilets are fundamental to promoting human health.
Three billion people, however, will still live without safely managed sanitation by 2030.
He calls on everyone to spare no effort to meet our commitment to water and sanitation for all.

Guest
Noon briefing guest is Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, briefing on UNIFIL.