Secretary-General, Security Council, Ukraine & Other Topics - Daily Press Briefing (22 March 2024)

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

Highlights
- Secretary-General.
- Security Council.
- Ukraine.
- Occupied Palestinian Territory.
- Syria.
- Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- Haiti.
- Rohingya refugees.
- The Gambia.
- Senior Personnel Appointment.
- World Water Day.
- International Days.
- Financial Contributions.

SECRETARY-GENERAL
In a few hours, the Secretary-General will arrive in Cairo, Egypt. He will embark on his annual Ramadan solidarity trip, which comes this year in turbulent times, with the conflict in Gaza.
The Secretary-General is expected to reiterate his calls for a humanitarian ceasefire and silencing the guns, particularly in Gaza and Sudan.
While in Egypt, Mr. Guterres will travel to northern Sinai, where he will visit a hospital in Al-Areesh and go to Rafah on the Egyptian side, where he will be meeting with UN humanitarian workers.
In Cairo, the Secretary-General is expected to have a Ramadan iftar with a number of refugees from Sudan, who fled their country because of the ongoing hostilities. He will emphasize his calls for cessation of hostilities during this Holy Month of Ramadan.
While in Cairo, he is also expected to meet with Egyptian officials.
After Cairo, the Secretary-General will continue his Ramadan solidarity trip in Amman, Jordan. There, he will visit UNRWA facilities that provide services to Palestinian refugees. He will also be having a Ramadan iftar with Palestine refugees and UN staff in the Jordanian capital.
While in Amman, the Secretary-General is expected to hold meetings with Jordanian officials.

SECURITY COUNCIL
You will have seen that the US draft resolution on the Middle East was vetoed this morning. The final vote was 11 votes in favour, three against and one abstention.
Once the Security Council meeting ended, Izumi Nakamitsu, the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, briefed Council members on Ukraine.
She noted the massive wave of missile and drone attacks that hit Ukraine today, saying that the targeting of energy infrastructure is simply unacceptable. She said this large-scale destruction and human suffering cannot continue.
She also noted the continuing use of anti-personnel mines, saying that any such use must be condemned.

UKRAINE
Also on Ukraine, the Humanitarian Coordinator there, Denise Brown, in a statement today, strongly condemned the overnight strikes that disrupted access to electricity and water for civilians across the country.
Humanitarian partners on the ground noted that the strikes left people in large urban centres such as Kharkiv, Kryvyi Rih, Zaporizhzhia and other cities without power and water. 
Ms. Brown stressed that the wide impact of these attacks is deepening the already dire humanitarian situation for millions of people in Ukraine. She added that civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected. We, along with our humanitarian partners, are mobilized and providing assistance, complementing the work of first responders.

Office of the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General Website
https://www.un.org/sg/en/spokesperson/

Full Highlights
https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=22%20March%202024