HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
MONDAY, 2 DECEMBER 2024
Syria
The Secretary-General is alarmed by the recent escalation of violence across northwest Syria. He calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities, reminds all parties of their obligations under international law, including humanitarian law, and calls for an immediate return to the UN-facilitated political process in line with Security Council resolution 2254 (2015).
The offensive launched by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, an entity subject to Security Council sanctions, along with a broad range of armed opposition factions, shifted frontlines that had been static since 2020. There are reports of civilian casualties, displacement tens of thousands of people, damage to civilian infrastructure and interruption in essential services and humanitarian aid. All parties must protect civilians and civilian objects, including by allowing safe passage to civilians fleeing hostilities.
Syrians have endured conflict for nearly 14 years. They deserve a political horizon that will deliver a peaceful future—not more bloodshed. The Secretary-General emphasizes the urgent need for all parties to seriously engage with his Special Envoy for Syria to chart a comprehensive path out of conflict in line with Security Council resolution 2254 (2015).
Syria/Humanitarian
The UN and its humanitarian partners’ operations across parts of Aleppo, Idleb and Hama remain largely suspended due to security concerns. Humanitarian workers are unable to access relief facilities, including warehouses. This has led to severe disruptions in people’s ability to access life-saving assistance. The UN remains committed to staying and delivering and is working to carry out assessments and expand humanitarian response efforts as soon as possible.
Humanitarian activities in other areas continue.
This includes assistance for those newly displaced in parts of north-west Syria, with at least 15 NGOs actively supporting reception centres, as well as distributing food, water, fuel, tents, blankets and hygiene kits. They are also working on health and waste removal. The three border crossings from Türkiye used by the UN to deliver assistance into north-west Syria remain open.
However, essential services in many affected areas have largely been suspended. A key water station for western Aleppo City remains inoperable, as maintenance teams cannot access the site due to ongoing hostilities. Schools have been closed in many areas, with at least 13 schools in north-west Syria damaged by hostilities over the past week.
Public health concerns are escalating, including due to the presence of unburied bodies and lack of potable water. Aleppo University Hospital sustained damage that has left hundreds of patients without essential care. At least 24 health centers in Idleb and Western Aleppo have suspended operations due to hostilities. The main hospital in Idleb has also been affected.
As you know, Syria is already one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, with more than 16.7 million people in need of assistance, and over 7 million people internally displaced. More than 500,000 people have also fled from Lebanon to Syria in recent weeks. Winter conditions will only exacerbate needs in the coming weeks.
These latest hostilities also come as the humanitarian response for Syria faces its largest funding shortfall ever, with less than 30 per cent of the $4.1 billion humanitarian appeal for 2024 received to date.
Deputy Secretary-General/Cairo
This morning, in Egypt, the Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, represented the Secretary-General at the Cairo Ministerial Conference to Enhance the Humanitarian Response in Gaza. Delivering the Secretary-General’s remarks at the official opening ceremony, Ms. Mohammed warned that conditions for Palestinians in Gaza are appalling and apocalyptic and that what we are seeing may well amount to the gravest of international crimes.
The Secretary-General noted that in the face of the gigantic needs, humanitarian aid is — outrageously — being blocked. We must demand that all parties comply with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, and that the delivery of aid must be predictable and sustained.
In the afternoon, in a joint press encounter with Badr Abdelatty, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Ms. Mohammed noted that the Secretary-General has repeatedly said that nothing justifies the 7 October abhorrent acts of terror by Hamas, nor the taking of hostages. And nothing justifies the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.
Ms. Mohammed pointed out that Israeli measures, including the recent Knesset bills, are preventing UNRWA from doing its job, and our staff members themselves have — outrageously — been killed, many in the course of their work.
The Deputy Secretary-General stressed that enough is enough, and the cycle of death, destruction, and denial of aid must end, adding that leaders can put an end to the crisis in Gaza. Both remarks have been shared with you.
On the sidelines of the conference, Ms. Mohammed also met heads of delegations in attendance.
Gaza
Several senior UN officials spoke alongside the Deputy Secretary-General in Cairo to draw attention to the horrific humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Muhannad Hadi, the Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, warned that every civilian in Gaza—man, woman, and child—lives in the shadow of death. If not killed by bombs or bullets, they risk dying from the lack of food, water, and medical care. Meanwhile, nearly all of Gaza’s residents have been displaced – many multiple times.
Mr. Hadi added that so far this year, UN trucks have been looted 75 times. Armed groups have also broken into UN facilities 34 times.
Sigrid Kaag, the Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza, said that she has visited Gaza over three decades in her life, in different capacities, and nothing prepares you as a fellow human being to the toll, the trauma, the suffering, the loss and the sense of abandonment Palestinian civilians feel.
And Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner General of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), said that the implementation of the Israeli Knesset legislation to end UNRWA’s operations in the occupied Palestinian territory will have disastrous consequences. In Gaza, he warned that dismantling UNRWA will collapse the United Nations’ humanitarian response.
Occupied Palestinian Territory
In Gaza, OCHA warns that Palestinians in the Strip are being displaced again and again, and they face critical shortages of food and water.
Humanitarian workers continue to risk their lives to provide assistance. On Saturday, Israeli air strikes killed four humanitarian workers – three from World Central Kitchen and one from Save the Children – raising the total number of aid workers killed since October of last year to 341. In response, World Central Kitchen suspended its operations in Gaza. In a statement, the Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Muhannad Hadi, stressed that “the continued killing of humanitarian workers is an unacceptable violation of international law and further intensifies the catastrophic humanitarian situation.”
The UN’s humanitarian partners warn that local food systems have been devastated by military ground operations, the bombardment of civilian areas and the presence of unexploded ordnance. They report that access to food remains the most critical concern raised by community members and across all groups – that’s women, men, girls and boys.
The World Food Programme says that for more than 50 days, barely any food has entered besieged areas of North Gaza governorate – that’s Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun and Jabalya. One exception to that happened yesterday, when WFP was able to send 200 food parcels with a humanitarian mission – led by the World Health Organization – to Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya. That assistance has successfully arrived.
Meanwhile, food security across the Strip is worsening, with people becoming more vulnerable by the day.
Bakeries – a lifeline to the people of Gaza – are unable to operate due to a lack of fuel and flour, making bread scarce.
On Saturday, two girls and a woman died during a crowd surge at a WFP-supported bakery in Deir al Balah. In a statement, the agency said the tragic loss highlights the dire food shortages driving people into desperation, urging authorities to ensure secure conditions for aid delivery.
Meanwhile, WFP notes that commercial cargo into Gaza is at its lowest point in months. Fresh food and meat are rare – and when they are available, prices are alarmingly high. In central Gaza, a bag of wheat flour can cost as much as US$200, and eggs up to $100 a tray.
Lebanon/Humanitarian
Turning to Lebanon, the Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs says that the UN and its partners are pivoting efforts to meet the needs of displaced people who have started to return to their communities, those who remain displaced, host communities and those who never left areas that were impacted by the hostilities.
According to the International Organization for Migration – in the first 24 hours after the ceasefire took place, nearly 580,000 people have begun returning to their communities. As of November 30th, national authorities report that nearly 90 percent of displaced people in collective shelters have left, though more than 22,000 people remain in approximately 400 sites.
The UN Refugee Agency says that more than 28,000 people have crossed from Syria into Lebanon since November 27th. The number that crossed from Lebanon into Syria exceeds 560,000 people since late September.
Though people are returning to their communities in Lebanon, OCHA says that challenges remain, including damaged infrastructure, limited services, safety concerns and the threat of unexploded ordnance.
Meanwhile, the World Organization Organization is prioritizing repairs to 14 hospitals and addressing the risk of disease outbreaks.
For its part, UNICEF continues to support water supply systems, with some 1.5 million people benefiting from 95 infrastructure repairs since September 2024. UNICEF is also providing emergency water, hygiene and sanitation support for half a million people.
To date, UNICEF has also conducted 14 humanitarian convoys, reaching more than 49,000 people in hard-to-reach areas, with plans to continue this assistance.
A new assessment by UN Habitat and its partners estimates that more than 15,000 buildings have been partially or fully destroyed in South and Nabatiyeh Governorates, while the World Bank reported earlier in November that around 100,000 housing units have been partially or fully damaged.
Plastic Pollution
Following the adjournment of the fifth session of negotiations on an international legally binding agreement on plastic pollution yesterday, the Secretary-General urges countries to work through their divergences to craft a meaningful treaty that goes to the heart of the crisis of plastic pollution and its impacts on environment, our health and our future.
The 3,300 delegates – including Members representing more than 170 nations and Observers from more than 440 organizations – meeting in Busan, in the Republic of Korea, adjourned the session with an agreement to take forward a new text that will serve as the starting point for negotiations at a resumed session next year.
Inger Andersen, the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), said in a statement that the talks in Busan have made good progress towards securing a deal that the world demands. But, she added, it is clear there is persisting divergence in critical areas and more time is needed for these areas to be addressed.
COP16 Desertification
Earlier today, the Deputy Secretary-General addressed - by pre-recorded video message - the opening of the 16th session of the Conference of the parties [COP16] to the Convention to combat desertification, which is taking place in Saudi Arabia.
She told participants that as we mark 30 years of the Convention to Combat Desertification, never before have so many people been affected by land degradation and drought.
The Deputy Secretary-General urged delegates to focus on three priorities. First, strengthen international cooperation on land degradation and restoration. Second, ramp-up restoration and third, prioritise a mass-mobilisation of finance to scale-up investment.
COP16 continues in Riyadh until 13 December.
Sudan
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that hostilities in Aj Jazirah State continue to displace people in Aj Jazirah at a massive scale. The International Organization for Migration reports that as of Saturday, more than 393,000 people fled locations across Aj Jazirah in less than six weeks, since October 20th.
The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher traveled last week to both El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur – as well as the Chadian border town of Adre – where displaced people spoke of their need for shelter, nutrition, health services and schools for their children.
He warned in a statement at the end of his visit that the world is not responding with the solidarity and support needed.
Local communities in Chad, who have welcomed hundreds of thousands of their Sudanese neighbours since the conflict began, told Mr. Fletcher that resources are wearing thin.
The Under-Secretary-General reiterated that the people of Sudan – and the humanitarians and communities supporting them – need funding to meet the scale of needs, they need access constraints to be lifted, they need the laws of war to be upheld and they need the fighting to stop.
The UN and its humanitarian partners continue to provide a range of support – including food, water, nutrition and shelter assistance – for those displaced, most of whom have been arriving in Gedaref, Kassala and River Nile states.
OCHA stresses that whether they leave or stay, civilians must be protected – and safe passage must be ensured for those who flee.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) reports continued progress in the national Disarmament, Demobilization, Reintegration, and Community Stabilization program in the country’s east. The UN peacekeeping mission supports that program.
In a significant development in Beni, North Kivu, the Congolese Army handed over 23 children, including six girls over the weekend to the UN Mission. The children were rescued during a joint operation conducted by the Congolese Army and the Uganda People’s Defence Force in Beni as well as Lubero and Biakato in Ituri province. Many of the children had been associated with the ADF and Mai-Mai armed groups. They have since been transferred to a national non-governmental organization for psychological support and reintegration into their communities.
Haiti
On Haiti, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that the situation in the capital, Port-au-Prince, remains fluid and volatile. Despite the challenges, the UN and its partners continue to do their best to support Haitians in need.
The World Food Programme continues to scale up its operations to meet escalating food needs. WFP has reached one million people in Haiti in November, marking the highest monthly coverage this year.
In the past week, WFP and its partners delivered more than 350,000 hot meals to people who have recently been displaced by violence in Port-au-Prince. On some days, WFP reached 50,000 people with these hot meals – the highest-ever daily volume of hot meals provided by WFP in Haiti.
WFP is also ramping up assistance to people who are not displaced but who are facing emergency-levels (IPC Phase 4) of hunger in the neighbourhoods where they are living, often in areas controlled by armed groups. A large-scale distribution of rice, beans and cooking oil reaching nearly 150,000 people in and around the capital is currently wrapping up, with more rounds of similar distributions planned for the coming weeks.
WFP is also distributing rations to people facing emergency hunger outside the capital, including in the Artibonite and Nord Est departments, as well as continuing with school meals programmes which are reaching 470,000 children across the country.
Kosovo
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Kosovo, Caroline Ziadeh has condemned Friday night’s attack targeting the Ibar Lepenac/Ibër Lepenc water canal in the Zubin Potok municipality, in northern Kosovo, which caused critical damage to essential civilian infrastructure and interrupted water supply.
She said this attack is deeply concerning and risks increasing tensions and undermining stability.
Ms. Ziadeh said that a comprehensive, transparent, investigation is imperative to identify those responsible and hold them accountable.
She also recalls the importance of upholding human rights and fundamental freedoms for all communities as the police operations and investigation are conducted.
She also calls on all parties to refrain from speculation and divisive rhetoric.
Ukraine
On Ukraine, the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that in the first 10 months of the year, more than 630 humanitarian organizations provided assistance to 7.7 million people across the country.
Between 29 November and 1 December, hostilities resulted in many civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure, including schools, railways and gas facilities, as reported by local authorities and aid workers in front-line regions.
In response, humanitarian organizations delivered emergency aid – including hot meals, warm blankets and emergency shelter materials – to repair the damage and ensure people are prepared for harsh winter conditions as temperatures begin to drop.
Meanwhile, in October attacks resulted in deaths and damage to homes, schools and hospitals, prompting people from the front-line Kharkiv and Donetsk Regions to seek safety elsewhere in the country.At least 24 health facilities and over 50 educational institutions were destroyed or damaged, primarily in front-line regions experiencing relentless fighting, according to the World Health Organization and the Human Rights Monitoring Mission to Ukraine.
Abolition of Slavery
Today is the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery. An estimated 50 million people worldwide are trapped in horrific conditions – from human trafficking to forced labour, sexual exploitation and forced marriage.
In his message, the Secretary-General calls on all to join forces to detect, report and abolish contemporary forms of slavery in all its forms.
World AIDS Day
Yesterday was World AIDS Day. This year’s theme is “take the rights path.”
In his message, the Secretary-General says the fight against AIDS can be won if leaders take a rights-based approach to ensure that everyone — especially the most vulnerable — can get the services they need without fear.
Briefings
At around 1 pm, the President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Ambassador Bob Rae, along with UNICEF’s (United Nations Children’s Fund) Executive Director, Catherine Russell, will brief reporters on the situation in Haiti.
This press conference is organized in connection with today’s ECOSOC Special Meeting entitled “Haiti’s Children Cannot Wait”.
Then, at 2 pm, there will be a briefing here by the United States Representative and President of the Security Council for the month of December, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, on the Council’s programme for the month.
