HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
MONDAY, 29 JANUARY 2024
UNRWA
As the Secretary-General made clear over the weekend, the United Nations is taking swift action following the extremely serious allegations made against several staff members from UNRWA [UN Relief and Works Agency]. The contracts of the staff members directly involved have been terminated, as we told you on Friday. An investigation by the UN’s Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) was immediately activated.
The Secretary-General has remained very active on this issue throughout the weekend and this morning.
A few moments ago, he met with the Under-Secretary-General and head of OIOS to ensure that the investigation will be done as swiftly and efficiently as possible.
Any employee involved in acts of terror will be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution. And as we said, the Secretariat is ready to cooperate with a competent authority able to prosecute the individuals, in line with the Secretariat’s normal procedures for such cooperation.
The Secretary-General has also been engaging with the UNRWA leadership and donors to UNRWA, as well as regional leaders, such as King Abdullah of Jordan, whom he spoke to a short while ago, and President Sisi of Egypt, with whom he will speak a bit later this afternoon.
The Secretary-General is personally horrified by the accusations against employees of UNRWA, but his message to donors, especially those who have suspended their contributions is to at least guarantee the continuity of UNRWA’s operations, as we have tens of thousands of dedicated staff working throughout the region.
The dire needs of the desperate populations they serve must be met.
At this point, the outlook for UNRWA and the millions of people it serves, not only in Gaza, but also in East Jerusalem, in the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria is very bleak.
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, said that the people of Gaza have been enduring unthinkable horrors and deprivation for months. In a post on social media, he said their needs have never been higher – and our humanitarian capacity to assist them has never been under such threat.
“We need to be at full stretch to give the people of Gaza a moment of hope. Now is not the time to let them down,” he said.
In Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, heavy fighting was reported near the Nasser and Al Amal hospitals, with Palestinians reportedly fleeing to the overcrowded town of Rafah, despite the lack of safe passage. Hospitals in Khan Younis are at risk of closure due to intense hostilities and the issuance of evacuation orders in surrounding [areas].
The seven partially functional hospitals in the south of Gaza are operating at three times their normal capacity, while facing critical shortages of basic supplies and fuel.
Also, the World Health Organization reports that only 14 of 36 hospitals in Gaza are partially functioning – including seven in the north.
Humanitarian partners continue to report obstacles to their attempts to access the northern and central parts of the Gaza strip. These include excessive delays for humanitarian aid convoys before or at Israeli checkpoints and heightened military activity in central Gaza.
Frequent threats to the safety of humanitarian sites and personnel are also impeding the delivery of time-sensitive and life-saving aid.
ABYEI
The Secretary-General is deeply concerned by the violence that occurred over the weekend in the Abyei Administrative Area, which resulted in the tragic death of numerous civilians and attacks on the UN peacekeeping force [United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei -UNISFA] during which two peacekeepers lost their life in the line of duty. The Secretary-General conveys his deepest condolences to the Government and people of Ghana and Pakistan, and to the families of the deceased civilians.
He condemns the violence and attacks against the peacekeeping force and calls on the Governments of South Sudan and Sudan to swiftly investigate the attacks, with the assistance of the peacekeeping force, known as UNISFA, and to bring the perpetrators to justice. He reminds all parties that attacks on UN peacekeepers may constitute war crimes.
UKRAINE
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tell us that attacks today and over the weekend are causing further suffering for civilians already enduring harsh winter conditions.
In the eastern part of Kharkiv, authorities said that shelling caused damage to homes and electrical grids. And in the southern area of Kherson, attacks over the weekend also damaged homes, as well as education and telecommunications facilities, according to the governor of the oblast.
We, along with our partners, continue to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to people in these areas.
On Friday, the Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, Denise Brown, led a convoy to the Kherson Region. It delivered food, medical supplies, winter clothes, solar lamps, hygiene items and children’s supplies to about 800 people in need.
Another convoy that arrived in the Kharkiv Region on Friday brought blankets, bottled water, solar lamps, medical supplies and hygiene kits, supplies for people with disabilities, and construction materials to repair damaged homes.
Overall last year, we, along with our partners, sent over 107 humanitarian convoys to support some 400,000 residents in the front-line areas in eastern and southern Ukraine.
DSG TRAVELS
The Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, was in Rome this morning, where she spoke at the Italy-Africa Summit.
She called for transformative investments, equal and inclusive partnerships and international cooperation for the African continent.
“To support sustainable development across Africa and beyond, she said, our international systems need a refresh, so that they are fit for the 21st Century,” Amina Mohammed said.
On the sidelines of the Summit, she met with Antonio Tajani, the Vice-President of the Council of Ministers of Italy and also Italy’s Foreign Minister.
Yesterday in Rome, the Deputy Secretary-General met with other government leaders and ministers — including the President of Italy, Sergio Mattarella; the Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and the President of Senegal, Macky Sall, who was in attendance.
She also met with the leadership of FAO [Director-General, Dongyu Qu] and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, and representatives from the World Bank and the African Development Bank.
And she is on her way home.
SECURITY COUNCIL
This morning, the Security Council held a briefing on Sudan and they heard from the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.
And this afternoon, at 3:00 p.m., they will reconvene for closed consultations on AV and Security in Africa.And they will hear from Hanna Tetteh, the UN Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Humanitarian Coordinator there for the United Nations, Bruno Lemarquis, expressed his deep concern over escalating violence in the town of Mweso, which is located about 100 km from Goma, in the province of North Kivu.
In a statement published today, Mr. Lemarquis said that with dozens of civilians killed, the humanitarian community in the country is disturbed by the serious violations there – including violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.
He reminded parties to the conflict of their duty to protect civilians, guarantee the safety of humanitarian workers and to ensure that assistance can reach those most in need.
The humanitarian impact of the latest intensification of violence has been alarming. Some 8,000 men, women and children have been displaced and sought shelter near Mweso Hospital.
Overall, more than a quarter of a million people – 250,000 people - in the Mweso health zone urgently need humanitarian assistance.
MIGRANTS
The International Organization for Migration today said that nearly 100 people have died or disappeared in the Central and Eastern Mediterranean since the beginning of 2024. The toll is over twice as high as the figure for the same period of 2023, which was the deadliest year for migrants at sea in Europe since 2016.
According to the IOM, the annual number of migrant deaths and disappearances in all of the Mediterranean jumped from 2,048 in 2021, to 2,411 in 2022, and to 3,041 by the end of last year.
IOM, together with other UN agencies and humanitarian partners, is working on recommendations to provide humanitarian assistance to migrants in distress and tackle the tragedy of all those who risk their lives.
HONOUR ROLL
Belgium and Equatorial Guinea have paid their dues in full and are on the honour roll.
