HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ,
DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
FRIDAY, 17 MAY 2024
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
In response to questions about the floating dock in Gaza, the Deputy Spokesman said the United Nations welcomes any effort towards ensuring humanitarian aid reaches Gaza. As such, we are grateful to the United States, as well as to Cyprus, with the support of other Member States, to sustain the maritime corridor as an additional route for aid to Gaza.
After months of discussions with all relevant authorities, the UN has agreed to support in receiving and arranging for the dispatch of aid into Gaza from the floating dock, as long as it respects the neutrality and independence of humanitarian operations.
Given the immense needs in Gaza, the floating dock is intended to supplement existing land crossings of aid into Gaza, including Rafah, Kerem Shalom and Erez. It is not meant to replace any crossings.
On Friday, the first trucks carrying humanitarian assistance have moved ashore on the floating dock in Gaza. This is an ongoing, multinational effort to deliver additional aid to Palestinians in Gaza through a maritime corridor that is entirely humanitarian in nature and will involve aid commodities donated by a number of countries and humanitarian organizations.
Meanwhile, our humanitarian colleagues report that since the military offensive on Rafah began, nearly 640,000 people have been displaced. Many of those who fled have sought safety in Deir al Balah, which is extremely overcrowded. Conditions there are dire.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that the ongoing influx of displaced people from Rafah into Deir al Balah – as well as Khan Younis – continues to strain an already-overstretched response.
Our colleagues working on getting food to people in Gaza report that only five bakeries remain operational in all of Gaza – four in Gaza city and one in Deir al Balah. Nearly a dozen others have ceased operations due to fuel and supply shortages, amid ongoing hostilities.
These conditions have forced partners to conduct small-scale distributions with limited stocks, providing reduced rations and prioritizing Khan Younis and Deir al Balah governorates – where, as we have mentioned, hundreds of thousands people displaced from Rafah have arrived over the past 10 days.
That ongoing displacement from Rafah to Khan Younis has exacerbated the water and sanitation crisis, with sewage overflow and solid waste spreading across roads, displacement camps, and the rubble of destroyed homes – with a catastrophic impact on health.
Our colleagues working on ensuring that people in Gaza have adequate shelter say there are no remaining stocks of shelter materials inside Gaza.
Meanwhile, colleagues working on the health response say the movement of emergency medical teams in Gaza is highly constrained due to growing insecurity and access challenges.
UKRAINE
From Ukraine, the Humanitarian Coordinator there, Denise Brown, yesterday condemned new attacks that continue to devastate people’s lives across the country.
Yesterday, in the city of Kherson, in the south of Ukraine, dozens of civilians, including two children, were injured in the strikes.
Meanwhile, attacks also continued in the east, in the Kharkiv region, forcing thousands of people to flee, leaving everything behind.
The humanitarian community is supporting people in Kharkiv. In coordination with the authorities, aid organizations have provided accommodation and supplies, and are exploring additional options should the number of displaced people continue to increase.
HAITI
From Haiti, our Humanitarian Coordinator, Ulrika Richardson, is calling for greater protection and assistance for people living in areas affected by the ongoing violence.
Ms. Richardson said it is simply unacceptable that people going about their daily lives and children playing outside and going to school are targeted. Schools and hospitals are being looted and destroyed.
In the country, some 360,000 people are displaced, the majority of them women and children, including more than 160,000 people in Port-au-Prince.
Many families have been displaced multiple times and the recent coordinated attacks on the neighborhoods of Delmas and Gressier on April 25th displaced another 10,000 people.
Following assessments in Gressier, our colleagues from the World Food Programme are telling us that close to 2,900 people will receive daily hot meals for two weeks.
The agency has also continued food distributions in Cité Soleil, which, as you know, is one of Port-au-Prince’s most vulnerable and poorest neighborhoods. They have now reached 80,000 people there since last Friday.
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND
In a statement issued last night, the Secretary-General welcomed the 15 May decision by the board of the International Monetary Fund to allow its members to re-channel their Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) to multilateral development banks through the purchase of hybrid capital instruments.
This is an important and innovative step towards expanding finance for sustainable development, in line with the Secretary-General’s proposed SDG Stimulus. It could immediately unlock up to $80 billion in desperately needed resources for developing countries, including to help tackle the climate crisis.
The Secretary-General calls on countries in a position to do so to seize this opportunity to re-channel their Special Drawing Rights, which can then be leveraged to increase lending to developing countries.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
Our colleagues from the peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo report that their acting Force Commander, Major General Khar Diouf, along with the Operations Commander of the Congolese Armed Forces in North Kivu, visited Mubambiro, which is near Sake -25km from Goma- to assess the security situation in the province. They engaged with UN peacekeepers and Congolese troops deployed in the area to protect civilians, amid the continuing presence and sporadic attacks by the M23 armed group.
They also visited the Operations Coordination Control Center in Sake. MONUSCO collaborates closely with the Congolese Armed Forces through this Centre, including through exchange of information and preparation of operations, to ensure timely responses to threats against civilians.
Meanwhile, in South Kivu, while the mission has recently ceased operations as part of its disengagement plan from the country, MONUSCO is currently training Congolese army personnel on managing and securing a peacekeeping base and airport in Kavumu, which will be handed over by 30 June.
As part of its disengagement process, MONUSCO has transferred two military bases to the Congolese defence and security forces. A number of premises, including in Kavumu, will be transferred to the Congolese armed forces between now and the end of June.
As we have mentioned, the Mission continues to implement its mandate, including the protection of civilians, in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri.
MALI
The Head of the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel, Leonardo Santos Simão, is going to Mali today, for a five-day visit to the capital, Bamako.
He will meet with the transition authorities, members of the Diplomatic Corps and our colleagues from the UN Country Team.
UGANDA
The UN Refugee agency in Geneva says that Uganda's open-door policy for refugees is being strained by arrivals from Sudan, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
UNHCR said that on average 2,500 people arrive in Uganda every week, mainly from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan. However, the country is seeing increasing numbers of Sudanese arrivals seeking safety from a war that has raged for more than a year.
UNCHR said that the influx of refugees is putting significant pressure on protection and assistance services provided to refugees and their host communities, risking Uganda’s solid protection regime and refugee response model. The agency highlighted the importance of donor support in alleviating the plight of refugees and their host communities and the need for international support to help support Uganda’s commitment to refugee protection. There is more information online.
SRI LANKA
A report issued today by the UN Human Rights Office calls on Sri Lanka’s government to take meaningful action to determine and disclose the fates and whereabouts of tens of thousands of people who have been subjected to enforced disappearance over the decades and hold those responsible to account. It also calls on the Government to acknowledge the involvement of State security forces and affiliated paramilitary groups, and to issue a public apology. The report is online.
BOOK LAUNCH
The Department of Global Communications (DGC) invites you all to a book launch today at the United Nations Bookshop, from 1:30 to 2:30, on the book, “The United Nations and the Question of Palestine”. The book’s author, Ardi Imseis, will have a conversation with Professor Karin Loevy of New York University, and Maher Nasser, Director of the DGC Outreach Division, will make opening remarks.
INTERNATIONAL DAYS
Today is the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. In his messages, the Secretary-General applauded the brave work of LGBTIQ+ human rights defenders fighting to outlaw discrimination and secure equality before the law. He added that this year’s theme – “No one left behind: equality, freedom and justice for all” – reminds us of our obligations to respect the human rights and dignity of every person. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognises the ‘equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family’ as the ‘foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world. "If we fail to ensure equality for some, we fail for everyone."
Today is also World Telecommunication and Information Society Day. This Day marks the founding of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) – the United Nations Agency for Digital Technologies. ITU is marking the event this year by exploring how digital innovation can help connect everyone and unlock sustainable prosperity for all. There are events around the world, including an ITU event that was webcast earlier and is available to screen online on ITU’s website.
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION
Brazil has made a full payment to the Regular Budget.
Brazil’s payment brings the number of fully paid-up Member States to 111.
