Update on the UN 2720 Mechanism – UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza (as of 10 June 2024)

12 June 2024

Mandate and Overview

In accordance with Security Council Resolution 2720 (2023), the Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza (SHRC) is responsible for facilitating, coordinating, monitoring and verifying the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Gaza. The Office is also tasked with establishing a UN mechanism dedicated to accelerating the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. The objective is to make the aid delivery process faster, more efficient, and directly beneficial to the civilians in need.

Key Highlights

Since 8 January 2024, the SHRC and her team have engaged extensively with the parties to the conflict, the Security Council and other Member States. regional organizations, members of the donor community, UN agencies and partners, civil society organizations, including women’s and youth groups, the private sector and members of the Israeli and Palestinian diaspora. The Office has been in daily exchanges with the members of the Humanitarian Country Teams in Jerusalem, Gaza, Cairo and Amman. The discussions identified challenges and opportunities with regard to the delivery of the humanitarian response. They thus provided a solid basis for devising strategies to ensure the facilitation of safe, unhindered humanitarian access, and to that end designing the 2720 Mechanism to maximize impact in reaching people in need.

Operationalization of the 2720 Mechanism

The UN 2720 Mechanism is now fully operational via routes through the Cyprus and Jordan corridors and soon through Egypt. By significantly improving the coordination and management of humanitarian aid into Gaza, the Mechanism ensures that the aid reaches the people in Gaza at scale and that the assistance provided responds to the priorities identified by the humanitarian community. It also increases transparency and accountability and thus allows the international community to have an overview of the availability of goods inside Gaza, including commercial goods (these will gradually be included). Ongoing engagement with the parties and key Member States seeks to further accelerate entry through all land and sea crossings and make sure that vital equipment gets into Gaza.

On 16 May, the Joint Logistics Over the Shore (JLOTS) in support of the Cyprus Maritime Corridor became operational, with all aid being pre-cleared through the 2720 Mechanism. The UN is providing Secretariat support to meetings with Member States engaged in the corridor. International monitors have been deployed to Cyprus to facilitate procedures. However, security concerns and JLOTS inoperability have resulted in humanitarian organizations having intermittent access to the JLOTS. The Office of the Senior Coordinator continues to engage with the parties and relevant stakeholders to ensure unimpeded access for humanitarians and to increase the volume of aid. Planning is taking place with key stakeholders to ascertain options for the maritime corridor beyond 30 September 2024.

The roll-out of the 2720 Mechanism for the Jordan corridor began on 2 June 2024. As a single point of entry, the UN 2720 Mechanism will channel all requests for humanitarian shipments by all humanitarian organizations and commercial operators through its Database for pre-clearance. Consignors are asked to specify the entry point into Gaza where inspection would be conducted (Kerem Shalom, Nitzana, etc.), and the 2720 Mechanism staff, in coordination with the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) and the Government of Israel, will coordinate the sequencing of the cargo.

In line with Security Council resolution 2720, the OSHRC is also in dialogue with the Government of Egypt to explore opportunities for optimizing the efficiency of aid delivery through Egypt, with a focus on streamlining operations and maximizing access through the Rafah and Kerem Shalom/Karam Abu Salem crossings. Options to this effect have been provided to the relevant parties. The Egypt land corridor, particularly via the Rafah crossing, is vital given the volume it can handle and which is vital for humanitarian assistance, early recovery, and reconstruction in Gaza.

In accordance with the Security Council mandate to monitor and verify in Gaza the humanitarian nature of all humanitarian relief consignments, the 2720 Mechanism seeks to deploy UN monitors/coordinators at border crossings and, more importantly, within Gaza. The 2720 Mechanism is currently waiting for clearance. The operationalization of the Mechanism will allow for pipeline prioritization, predictability, visibility, and tracking of supplies to Gaza.

The Office has identified premises inside Gaza to move there when the conditions allow. It is expected that 20 international monitors will be deployed by the end of June.

The OSHRC also works closely with the UN Country Team in the State of Palestine to highlight the importance of early planning for recovery and reconstruction as well as to engage with and participate in key processes in the State of Palestine and the region, with a view to aligning approaches amongst the key actors, including the international financial institutions, NGOs, and other key stakeholders.

The SHRC is grateful to those Member States who have already committed funding for the design and implementation of the Mechanism. To date, the Mechanism has received a total of USD 11.7 million (out of a total requirement of USD 61.2 million) from The Netherlands (USD 5.4 million), the United Arab Emirates (USD 5 million), and Australia (USD 1.3 million).