Israel/Lebanon, Afghanistan, South Sudan & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (21 June 2024)

Noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Highlights:
-Israel/Lebanon
-Occupied Palestinian Territory
-Afghanistan
-Deputy Secretary-General
-Mali
-South Sudan
-Nigeria
-Zambia
-Haiti
-Senior Personnel Appointment
-Rohingya Refugees
-Cyprus
-International Days
-Briefing – Monday

ISRAEL/LEBANON
The Secretary-General, in press remarks over the past hour, expressed his profound concerns about escalation between Israel and Hezbollah along the Blue Line. He said that the risk for the conflict in the Middle East to widen is real -- and must be avoided.
One rash move – one miscalculation -- could trigger a catastrophe that goes far beyond the border, and frankly, beyond imagination, Mr. Guterres warned.
He said that people of the region and the people of the world cannot afford Lebanon to become another Gaza.
The Secretary-General said that the parties must urgently recommit to the full implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701 and immediately return to a cessation of hostilities.
Further military escalation will only guarantee more suffering, more devastation to communities in Lebanon and Israel, and more potentially catastrophic consequences for the region, he said.
He added that UN peacekeepers are on the ground working to de-escalate tensions and help prevent miscalculation in an extremely challenging environment. His remarks are online.

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
Turning to Gaza, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that the breakdown of public order and safety is increasingly endangering humanitarian workers and operations.
Alongside the ongoing fighting, criminal activities and the risk of theft and robbery has effectively prevented humanitarian access to critical locations.
For example, since 18 June, the UN has not been able to pick up supplies from Kerem Shalom crossing. With our humanitarian partners and relevant parties, we are working to address the lack of public order and safety, alongside other impediments to a meaningful humanitarian response.
As the occupying power, it is incumbent upon the Israeli authorities to restore public order and safety as far as possible and facilitate safe humanitarian access so that assistance reaches civilians in need.
OCHA adds that humanitarian colleagues are working relentlessly to restore key services at health facilities in northern Gaza as the health system struggles to address soaring needs amid a lack of any field hospitals in the area.
In central and southern Gaza, where most of Gaza’s population is now crammed in dire conditions, only seven hospitals remain functional, all partially, including three in Deir al Balah, four in Khan Younis and none in Rafah, alongside eight field hospitals.
In addition to the lack of health facilities, our colleagues warn that the volume of medical supplies entering Gaza remains insufficient to sustain the health response. Last week, the World Health Organization delivered its first cargo - through the Ashdod port for shipment to Gaza via Karem Shalom - with enough supplies to cover the health needs of 35,000 people. While this is a welcome development, the supplies are barely a fraction of what’s needed to sustain the massive health response.

AFGHANISTAN
This morning, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Roza Otunbayeva, briefed the Security Council on the situation in the country.
Ms. Otunbayeva said that over the past weeks, in preparation for the third Doha format meeting, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan has met with hundreds of Afghans, and especially women, around the country.
She added that these consultations revealed a broad agreement that it was important for the de facto authorities to attend the meeting, but that there should also be no recognition of the de facto authorities until the issues of women’s rights, girls’ education, and an acceptable constitution were broadly addressed.
Also briefing Council members, Lisa Doughten, the Director of Financing and Partnerships at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warned that humanitarian needs in Afghanistan remain alarmingly high.
She said that more than 50 per cent of the population – some 23.7 million people – require humanitarian assistance this year, the third highest number of people in need in the world.
Both remarks were shared with you.
And I also want to flag that Ms. Otunbayeva will speak with you at the Security Council stakeout, soon after the end of the Council meeting. That could be actually, fairly soon.

Full Highlights:
https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=21%20June%202024