HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ,
DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
WEDNESDAY, 24 APRIL 2024
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
Our colleagues from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs report that there were no humanitarian missions to northern Gaza today, as the Israeli army closed its checkpoints on two roads due to troop movements.
Yesterday, however, UNRWA - the UN Relief and Works Agency - reports that it undertook a joint mission with UNICEF to the north, to Jabalia. The agencies provided medical aid and water purification assistance to people there.
It remains extremely difficult to secure safe and unimpeded access for humanitarian movements to northern Gaza. OCHA reports that as of today, more than one-third of aid missions to the north in April were denied or impeded by Israeli authorities.
Meanwhile, as hostilities across Gaza continue, the World Health Organization warns that it is extremely challenging to resupply and support hospitals working to strengthen and restore services.
Yesterday, Al Awda Hospital in An Nuseirat refugee camp, in Gaza’s Middle Area, was reportedly hit. In a social media post, the Wordld Health Organization’s Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the attack disrupted the solar energy system that supplies electricity to the hospital. Damage to water and fuel tanks was also reported. Over 200 Al Awda staff have been providing services to around 1,200 people each day.
Dr. Tedros repeated his call to stop targeting and militarizing hospitals.
As of yesterday, WHO has documented nearly 890 attacks on health care in the Occupied Palestinian Territory since 7 October. This includes 443 attacks in Gaza. Of the 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip, 32 have been damaged. In the West Bank, WHO reports 446 attacks on health care.
Staying in the West Bank, OCHA reports that between 18 and 22 April, 18 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces. This includes 14 people, among them three children, killed in Nur Shams Refugee Camp during a large-scale operation by Israeli forces. Hundreds of homes in the camp were damaged, and several commercial buildings were destroyed.
LEBANON
The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) reports that tensions remain high in southern Lebanon, with daily exchanges of fire continuing along the Blue Line in repeated breaches of the cessation of hostilities and in violation of Security Council resolution 1701 (2006).
UNIFIL reiterates its call for these exchanges to cease as well as for all actors to exercise maximum restraint and to avoid any action that could lead to further escalation.
The Head of UNIFIL and Force Commander, General Aroldo Lazaro, continued to hold discussions with local civilian groups, including religious leaders from Tyre, in the context of the escalating tensions.
General Lazaro expressed his gratitude for their continued support to UNIFIL.
SECURITY COUNCIL
This morning, the Security Council was briefed on the situation in the Great Lakes region.
Huang Xia, the Special Envoy for the region, told Council members that he continues to be concerned by the intensification of conflict as well as by the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. This, he added, is in addition to the persistent rhetoric of confrontation between Congo and Rwanda, in a context where hate speech is proliferating.
Mr. Xia called for urgent efforts to appease tensions, and for dialogue. In addition to supporting the current diplomatic initiatives underway, he encouraged the countries of the region to fully engage in efforts to revitalize and fully implement the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the DRC and the region.
Also speaking at the Council this morning was Joyce Msuya, the Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator. She said the humanitarian community has stepped up its efforts but added that the humanitarian operation is dangerously overstretched.
She said that urgent steps must be taken to resolve the conflict and avoid further deterioration of the situation in DRC, and across the region. After so many years, people in DRC – and in the Great Lakes region – deserve the opportunity to live in peace, she concluded.
This afternoon, Sigrid Kaag, the Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza, is scheduled to brief Council members. We also expect her to speak to you at the stakeout, following the Council’s session.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
And staying in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the UN peacekeeping mission says that in response to an attack by CODECO members in Ituri province, in which two civilians were injured yesterday, they have established a Mobile Operating Base in Tche, which is southeast of Djugu.
Peacekeepers continue to conduct patrols in the area to prevent further attacks and protect civilians.
As we have been reporting, the Mission continues to respond to several instances of violence perpetrated by armed groups in the Djugu area, including clashes between CODECO and Zaire members in Maze last week.
UKRAINE
In Ukraine, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that Kharkiv and Odesa - the second and third-largest cities in the country - sustained another wave of attacks overnight, causing new civilian casualties and damage to homes and civilian infrastructure.
In Kharkiv, the office and vehicles of a humanitarian partner were severely damaged in an attack earlier today, forcing the organization to halt its support operations in the area temporarily.
Local authorities in the Dnipro, Donetsk and Kherson regions in the south and east of the country also reported attacks which injured scores of civilians and damaged homes and civilian infrastructure. In the Sumy region, local authorities report that several civilians were injured following attacks in the region.
Responding to the latest waves of attacks, humanitarian workers in Kharkiv and Odesa swiftly mobilized support to provide hot meals, distribute repair materials, blankets and other supplies to people whose apartments and homes were damaged.
Humanitarian partners also delivered repair materials and provided psychological support in Kherson and Sumy regions after the latest attacks.
DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL
The Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, today concluded her two-day visit to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Earlier today, Ms. Mohammed, together with Guy Rider, the Under- Secretary-General for Policy, and Felipe Paullier, the Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Affairs, met with directors of UN entities and discussed regional efforts to effectively support the priorities and the needs of Africa for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). She then met with UN Resident Coordinators in the region to take stock of the UN's support in their countries.
Yesterday, the Deputy Secretary-General opened the 10th African Regional Forum on Sustainable Development, focusing on actions needed to accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals.
Throughout her visit, she held several meetings with senior government officials, including the President of Ethiopia, Sahle-Work Zewde; the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed; the Prime Minister of Uganda, Robinah Nabbanja; and the Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Monique Nsanzabaganwa. They discussed the acceleration of sustainable development in the region.
The Deputy Secretary-General also met with UN Principals and the UN country team in Ethiopia.
She will depart for Dubai in the evening.
HAITI
In Haiti, humanitarians continue to support people affected by recent violence, despite the volatile situation.
Yesterday, the World Food Programme and its partners distributed 3,000 hot meals to displaced people in Port-au-Prince. In other Departments, they also provided 216,000 school lunches that included fresh local vegetables, and 5,000 food rations to people in the country's south.
The UN Population Fund and the World Health Organization continue to support health care services, including in three hospitals in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area providing maternal health care. They have delivered essential medical equipment and other supplies. The two agencies have also extended their support beyond maternity services, responding to urgent needs in sexual and reproductive health.
GUEST TOMORROW
Also on Haiti, tomorrow, Carl Skau, the Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), will be the guest at the noon briefing. He will brief reporters on his recent visit to Haiti.
CLIMATE
The UN Refugee Agency today launched its Climate Resilience Fund, seeking to boost the protection of refugees and displaced communities who are most threatened by climate change. UNHCR is aiming to raise $100 million for the fund by 2025.
For the first time, the Fund will exclusively target financing efforts to protect the most threatened displaced communities, equipping them to prepare for, withstand and recover from climate-related shocks.
The Fund will also increase the availability of environmentally sustainable resources in displacement settings, providing more clean energy, for example, to power the water, schools and health infrastructure used by refugees and their hosts.
INTERNATIONAL DAYS
Today is the International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace. In his message, the Secretary-General says that dialogue, diplomacy and multilateral solutions provide the surest path to a peaceful and just world.
Today also is the one where the World Immunization Week starts. A new study led by the World Health Organization reveals that immunization efforts saved an estimated 154 million lives over the past 50 years. Most of those are infants. These gains highlight the importance of protecting immunization progress in every country of the world.
And just to flag that tomorrow is International Girls in Information and Communication Technology Day.
Under the theme “Leadership”, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) will observe the Day with events to celebrate and encourage girls to pursue their studies and careers in science, engineering, technology, mathematics, and other fields. Events will be held tomorrow at the FEU Tech Innovation Center, Far Eastern University, Manila, Philippines in coordination and collaboration with the ITU’s Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
We encourage you to visit the ITU website and follow the events.
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION
Qatar has paid its dues to the regular budget. There are now 103 paid-up nations.
GUESTS
Máximo Torero, the Chief Economist of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and Arif Husain, the Chief Economist of the World Food Programme (WFP) briefed reporters on the launch of the 2024 Global Report on Food Crises.
In a video message to the launch of that Report, the Secretary-General warned that, last year, almost three hundred million people faced a food crisis and the number of people on the cusp of famine doubled – to over 700,000.
He said that the global food crisis requires an urgent global response and called to transform food systems. And we will hear from them shortly.
