Haiti, Security Council, Rwanda & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (12 April 2024)

Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Highlights:
-Rwanda
-Deputy Secretary-General
-Occupied Palestinian Territory
-Haiti
-Democratic Republic of the Congo
-Ethiopia high-level pledging event
-South Sudan
-South Sudan/humanitarian
-West and Central Africa
-Security Council
-International days
-Noon briefing guests
-Secretary-General stakeout on Monday, 15 April 2024

RWANDA
The Secretary-General spoke at the memorial ceremony to mark the 30th anniversary of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. That event was organized by the Department of Global Communications and the Permanent Mission of Rwanda.
The Secretary-General, in his remarks, said the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda is a stain on our collective consciousness and a brutal reminder of the legacy of colonialism and hate speech.

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL
The Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, will be heading off to Chile, to Chile, to Santiago, over the weekend, to attend the 7th session of the Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Forum for Sustainable Development.
While there, she will also meet with senior Government Officials and engage with the UN Regional Directors of various entities, Resident Coordinators and other stakeholders based in the region, to accelerate action on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. And that follows the SDG Summit last year and is of course in the lead up to the Summit of the Future in September.
The Under-Secretary-General for Policy, Guy Ryder, will also be part of the visit. The DSG will be back in New York on 16 April, on Tuesday.

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
Turning to Gaza, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tell us that we had planned two humanitarian missions to northern Gaza today, but both were denied access by the Israeli authorities.
One of the missions was meant to deliver 20,000 litres of fuel to run backup power generators at Al Ahli hospital, where medical personnel are still working to provide essential healthcare, despite having no electricity.
OCHA reports that within the past week, more than 40 per cent of aid missions to northern Gaza were denied or impeded, including due to hostilities nearby. Humanitarian missions planned for areas south of Wadi Gaza were also denied access.
Only one mission that required coordination was facilitated today by the Israeli authorities – and that mission provided health support to civilians in Khan Younis.
We and our humanitarian partners continue to do all we can to provide essential humanitarian services to people in Gaza, wherever and whenever possible. As the acting Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Jamie McGoldrick, said earlier today, Israel’s obligations to facilitate the flow of aid in Gaza do not end when those supplies are dropped off on the other side of the border.
Aid organizations need to be able to deliver aid safely throughout Gaza. This means:

Ensuring that our facilities and convoys are not targeted;
Granting and facilitating access for those convoys, not denying their movements;
Making sure that humanitarian missions move quickly and predictably through checkpoints;
And allowing us to bring in the supplies we need: fuel, trucks and communications equipment, as well.

Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=12%20April%202024