HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BYSTÉPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
FRIDAY, 26 JANUARY 2024
SECRETARY-GENERAL/ INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
In a statement issued today, The Secretary-General takes note of the Order of the International Court of Justice, indicating provisional measures in the case ofSouth Africa against Israel on the application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip.
In that regard, the Secretary-General notes the Court’s decision to order Israelinter alia, in accordance with its obligations under the Genocide Convention, “to take all measures within its power” in relation to Palestinians in Gaza to prevent the commission of acts within the scope of Article II of the Convention, including killing, causing serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the group’s destruction and imposing measures intended to prevent births. He also notes the Court’s instruction to Israel to ensure with immediate effect that its military does not commit any of these acts.
Further, the Secretary-General takes special note of the Court’s order to Israel to ensure the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the adverse conditions of life faced by Palestinians in Gaza.
He also notes the emphasis of the Court that “all parties to the conflict in the Gaza Strip are bound by international humanitarian law” and that it calls for the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages abducted during the attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 and held since then by Hamas and other armed groups”.
The Secretary-General recalls that, pursuant to the Charter and to the Statute of the Court, decisions of the Court are binding and trusts that all parties will duly comply with the Order from the Court.
In accordance with the Statute of the Court, the Secretary-General will promptly transmit the notice of the provisional measures ordered by the Court to the Security Council.
UN RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCYFOR PALESTINE REFUGEES
In another statement issued this morning, the Secretary-General said that he has been briefed by the Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, regarding extremely serious allegations which implicate several UNRWA staff members in the terror attacks of 7 October in Israel.
The Secretary-General is horrified by this news and has asked Mr. Lazzarini to investigate this matter swiftly and to ensure that any UNRWA employee shown to have participated or abetted in what transpired on 7 October, or in any other criminal activity, be terminated immediately and referred for potential criminal prosecution.
An urgent and comprehensive independent review of UNRWA will be conducted as it has been announced by Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General of UNRWA, back on 17 January.
To protect the Agency’s ability to deliver humanitarian assistance, Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini
has taken the decision to immediately terminate the contracts of all these staff members and launch an investigation in order to establish the truth without delay. Any employee of UNRWA who was involved in acts of terror will be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution.
The Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) have been seized of the matter and will be conducting the investigations that UNRWA requests.
GAZA
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today said that heavy fighting was reported yesterday in Khan Younis near the Al Aqsa, Nasser, Al Amal and Al Kheir hospitals.
There have also been reports of Palestinians trying to flee to the southern town of Rafah, which is already overcrowded, despite the lack of safe passage.
The head of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, said yesterday that WHO and UNRWA helped evacuate 45 patients from the Khan Younis Training Center but was unable to evacuate all of the injured due to the fighting. One patient reportedly died en route. Dr. Tedros called for the protection of all civilians, humanitarians and health workers, while reiterating his appeal for an immediate ceasefire.
WHO also says there are 14 partially functional hospitals out of 36 in Gaza – seven in the north and seven in the south.
LEBANON
In Lebanon, the Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon for the United Nations, Imran Riza, said today that the escalation in the south of the country is taking a growing toll on civilians.
Mr. Riza’s statement came after he recently visited the southern parts of Lebanon and met with people who have lost their homes and are now displaced because of the current round of hostilities.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates that more than 86,000 people have been displaced in southern Lebanon, while some 60,000 are remaining in border villages. Significant damage was inflicted upon health centres, essential civilian infrastructure and agricultural land. We reiterate our call on all the parties to take constant care to spare civilians and civilian infrastructure, and to facilitate access to civilians in need, in line with international humanitarian law.
HOLOCAUST
The Secretary-General this morning spoke at the annual ceremony in remembrance of the victims and survivors of the Holocaust, and he particularly recognized their courage. He said that beacons of bravery shone from the hell of Auschwitz itself, and from across the world ravaged by Nazi ideology and hate.
The Secretary-General warned that the antisemitism that fueled the Holocaust did not start with the Nazis, nor did it end with their defeat. Today, he said, we are witnessing hate spreading at alarming speed. Online, it has moved from the margins to the mainstream.
Mr. Guterres said that it is up to all of us to defend the truth and to defend our common humanity. Working together, he said, we must combat online lies and hate. Every one of us must resolve to stand up against the forces of hate, discrimination, and division.
DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL/TRAVELS
The Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, at the invitation of the Prime Minister of Italy, will head this weekend to Rome to participate in the Italy-Africa Summit hosted by the Government of the Republic of Italy as part its G7 Presidency’s focus. The Deputy Secretary-General will also engage in bilateral meetings with senior Government officials, UN officials and other stakeholders.
The Deputy Secretary-General will be back in New York on 29th of this month.
CYPRUS
The Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General on Cyprus, Ms. María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar, will travel to Cyprus over the weekend for her first visit to the island since taking up her mandate earlier this month. On 30 January, she will meet with the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders, Mr. Nikos Christodoulides and Mr. Ersin Tatar, respectively. During her stay, Ms. Holguín will also engage with a broad range of interlocutors from local actors to civil society, including women and youth groups.
UKRAINE/HUMANITARIAN
The Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, Denise Brown, today condemned in a statement a new attack on humanitarian workers in Chasiv Yar, in the Donetsk Region. That is in the east of the country.
This morning, a vehicle belonging to a Ukrainian humanitarian organization, called the Mission Proliska, was hit while its team was just a few metres away distributing supplies.
With civilians in Chasiv Yar having exhausted their scarce resources, Ms. Brown stressed the importance of the work carried out by volunteers, humanitarian organizations and local authorities. She emphasized that the work of humanitarian organizations must be protected.
UKRAINE/UN REFUGEE AGENCY
The High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, wrapped up a week-long visit to Ukraine late last night. He warned of dramatic humanitarian suffering throughout Ukraine and worsening conditions as war-affected civilians suffer in the depths of winter.
Mr. Grandi appealed in the strongest terms for much more international humanitarian support to the country, including to those displaced by the horrific violence and those who are subjected to the harsh winter.
In the past two years, the office of the High Commissioner for Refugees and its partners have reached more than 4.3 million people in 2022 and 2.6 million in 2023 with assistance and support.
If funding is available, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) plans to deliver almost $600 million worth of assistance to reach 2.7 million Ukrainians in 2024.
SECURITY COUNCIL
Also on Ukraine, yesterday the Security Council held a meeting on threats to International AV and Security.
Briefing Council members was Rosemary DiCarlo, the head of the Department of Political and AVbuilding Affairs. She said that the UN is not in a position to verify the reports or the circumstances of the crash of a Russian IL-76 military transport plane in the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation, near the border of Ukraine.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) today said that peacekeepers have deployed to the Mweso area in North Kivu to protect civilians who are caught in ongoing clashes between the Congolese armed forces (FARDC) and the 23 March Movement, also called M23.
The Mission has received reports of several civilians killed and wounded.
AVkeepers are actively protecting a corridor, which has allowed more than 1,000 internally displaced people to move to safer ground. The AVkeeping Mission is monitoring the situation closely and remains committed to implementing its protection of civilians’ mandate in support to the Congolese defense and security forces.
MALI
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today said that the 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan for Mali was launched yesterday in Bamako, the capital of the country.
The UN, along with its humanitarian partners, will need over $700 million to assist more than 4.1 million people across the country in 2024. These efforts will complement response activities implemented by national authorities.
Last year, aid agencies received only about 30 per cent of what was needed, and we asked $750 million last year. With these funds, they assisted more than 1.8 million people across the country.
While funding is urgently needed, aid agencies are also clear that humanitarian aid is not the solution to the challenges facing Mali. The UN continues to emphasize the need to maintain development assistance, as well as social cohesion programmes, to help communities keep moving forward and to avoid further increases in humanitarian needs in the future.
CLEAN ENERGY
Today is the first International Day of Clean Energy.
In his message, the Secretary-General says that “fossil fuel phase out is not only necessary, it is inevitable.”
He adds that we need governments to accelerate the transition, and the biggest emitters should point out the way.
SENIOR PERSONNEL APPOINTMENT
oday, the Secretary-General is appointing Raisedon Zenenga of Zimbabwe as his new Deputy Special Representative in the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM). He will succeed Anita Kiki Gbeho of Ghana, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for her dedicated service in Somalia.
Mr. Zenenga currently serves as Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Libya, where he also worked as Assistant Secretary-General and Mission Coordinator of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) since 2020.
Mr. Zenenga brings extensive experience in supporting political processes and mediation, managing complex peace operations, and working with Government and other key stakeholders in conflict and post-conflict settings.
HONOUR ROLL
Algeria, Azerbaijan, Slovakia and Tuvalu have paid their regular budget dues in full for 2024. This brings the number of Member States on the Honour Rollto 26.
