Lebanon/Israel, Sudan & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (14 June 2024) | United Nations

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

Highlights:
Secretary-General Travel
Lebanon/Israel
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Yemen
Deputy Secretary-General Travel
Security Council
Sudan
South Sudan
Ethiopia
Female Genital Mutilation
International Days
Financial Contribution
Alan Bulkaty
Guest

SECRETARY-GENERAL TRAVEL
A few moments ago, the Secretary-General participated in the outreach session of the G7 summit in Italy.
As outlined in his press conference in Geneva, the Secretary-General carried a number of messages to the G7, notably on climate change, Artificial Intelligence, and reform of the international financial architecture
He encouraged the G7 to step up and go further, faster in climate action by showing greater climate solidarity by finance, technology transfer, and so forth.
He reiterated his call for real reform of the international financial architecture so that it better represents developing countries and responds to their needs.
On Artificial Intelligence, he told the gathering that these technologies must support human rights, sustainable development, and benefit all humanity - instead of racing ahead of regulation, exacerbating power imbalances, further concentrating wealth and raising tensions and divisions. He highlighted the recommendations of his Advisory Panel on Artificial Intelligence in that regard.
The Secretary-General is also scheduled to hold some bilateral meetings later in the day.

LEBANON/ISRAEL
On Lebanon and Israel, we remain very concerned by the recent escalation across the Blue Line and beyond.
In her engagements this past week with key Lebanese and international interlocutors, the Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, conveyed her deep concern at the escalating situation across the Blue Line.
The Special Coordinator calls on the parties to exercise maximum restraint and refrain from any action or statement that could further fuel tensions. She also stresses the urgency of ensuring the protection of civilians.
UNIFIL peacekeepers remain on the ground conducting their mandated operational activities and working at all levels to de-escalate tensions.
Since October, we have seen too many lives lost, families uprooted, and neighbourhoods destroyed. The danger of a wider conflagration is very real.
We continue to engage with the parties and urge all actors to avoid hostile actions, return to a cessation of hostilities under the framework of Security Council Resolution 1701 (2006), and work towards a diplomatic solution.
 
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
Turning to the situation in Gaza, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that displaced families continue to face dire conditions and significant challenges in accessing basic services. That’s according to multiple humanitarian assessments carried out over the past month.
OCHA led two such assessments last week at informal displacement sites in Deir al Balah, where thousands of people are sheltering. Families there said that shelters are overcrowded and lack sanitation infrastructure. Food distributions are irregular, and residents reported a range of health issues, such as hepatitis A, skin diseases, and respiratory illnesses. Access to water is also critically low.
Our partners working on water, sanitation and hygiene in Gaza report that critical infrastructure continues to sustain significant damage. They say the recent intensification of military operations has resulted in additional losses of key water and sanitation assets, including five water production wells in Jabalya, in the north, as well as two water wells and two desalination plants in Rafah, in the south.
These partners estimate that over the past eight months, more than two-thirds of water and sanitation facilities and infrastructure in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged due to the conflict. Once again, OCHA underscores that humanitarian operations in Gaza must be fully facilitated and all impediments must be lifted.
To give you just one example of these challenges – UNICEF’s spokesman, James Elder, said that one of the agency’s trucks carrying medicines and nutrition supplies for 10,000 children in Gaza was turned back on Wednesday – despite approvals for the mission. Mr. Elder says they were held for eight hours at checkpoints, and it took 13 hours to move just 40 kilometres.

Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=14%20June%202024