Afghanistan, Iran & other topics - Daily Press Briefing

You can explain to them later. All right, good afternoon. Happy Friday, if that is such a thing. It is Friday, right?

Yes.

Yes, excellent. 3:00 PM this afternoon, the Secretary-General will deliver remarks at an informal meeting of the General Assembly to hear a briefing on the— on his report on Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration. It will take— the meeting will take place in the Trusteeship Council Chamber. It will obviously be On UN Web TV. In his remarks, the Secretary General is expected to highlight that human mobility is profoundly shaping shaping our world, and yet instead of responding with cooperation, the global reaction has all too often been driven by fear, been driven by division, and being driven by just rank opportunism. He will note that safe and regular pathways are becoming ever more restrictive, and when pathways are blocked, migrants do not disappear. they are pushed into danger, exploitation, and in the hands of smugglers. He will also call on all those to choose cooperation over chaos, dignity over discrimination, and to make the Global Compact real in every region, on every route, for every migrant. Amy Pope, the Director-General of the organization— the International Organization for Migration, is also here in New York and will deliver remarks as well. Turning to the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan, I can tell you that the Secretary-General is deeply concerned by the escalation of violence we're seeing between Afghanistan and Pakistan and the impact that violence is having on civilian populations. He calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities and he reiterates his call on the parties to resolve any differences through diplomacy. Over the impact of attacks, including reported incident at a transit and reception center at the Torkaram border crossing in the eastern part of Afghanistan. We continue to call on all parties to comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law, in particular to ensure that civilians are protected at all times, as, as well as civilian infrastructure. Our humanitarian colleagues note that years of conflict, poverty, and natural disasters such as drought and earthquakes Have left nearly half of the population, almost 22 million men, women, and children, in need of humanitarian aid. This number will only increase if the fighting goes on or escalates. We, along with our humanitarian partners, are monitoring the situation closely, and we will continue to support wherever possible. Our humanitarian colleagues also need more funding for their operations. They've only received 11% of $181 million of the $1.7 billion that is needed for this year's humanitarian needs and response. I also wanted to tell you that the Secretary-General welcomes the continuation of the indirect talks mediated by Oman between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America. He calls on the parties to continue to work with determination and in good faith towards a lasting agreement. He also emphasizes that full and comprehensive IAEA verification is essential for any successful resolution of the Iran nuclear issue. And turning to Sudan, as you know, the conflict in that country has pushed humanitarian needs to extraordinary levels. Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that nearly 34 million people will require aid in 2026. This is the highest number of people needing assistance anywhere in the world. This year, the humanitarian community is calling for $2.9 billion to reach more than 20 million people facing the most catastrophic needs. The funding will provide food, clean water, nutrition, health and protection, as well as education services. Aid workers continue to face grave dangers. In recent months, 92 aid workers, mostly Sudanese, have been killed, injured, or kidnapped or detained, and more than 65 attacks on healthcare workers and patients were also recorded. Delivering aid at scale— at this scale requires flexible funding and guaranteed humanitarian access so workers can reach those people who need it and they can reach them safely and rapidly without any obstruction. Turning south to South Sudan, the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan warned today that the country's political and military leaders are systematically systematically dismantling the 2018 revitalized peace agreement. That dismantling is putting civilians at serious risk of renewed conflict and serious human rights violations. The Commission's latest report to the Human Rights Council documents widespread and systematic attacks on civilians, including unlawful killings, indiscriminate aerial bombardments, sexual violence, and forcible recruitment of boys acts that may all constitute war crimes or crimes against humanity, according to the Commission. The Commission calls for the immediate release— cessation of hostilities, the full implementation of the revitalized peace agreement, and compliance with South Sudan's obligations under international law. Turning to Gaza, the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tells us that as of Monday, our partners working on food security have distributed food rations to about 200,000 families in February. That's nearly 1 million people. In addition, more than 1.7 million meals have been prepared in more than 180 community kitchens across the Gaza Strip. Free bread has also been distributed and been delivered to about 400 shelters and displacement sites throughout Gaza. However, and this is a big however, food rations have been cut by half for February, largely because there's not enough supplies in Gaza.

Right.

Around 2/3 of the aid trucks coming through Egypt, the Egypt corridor, were sent back this month. Inside Gaza, coordinated humanitarian movements with Israeli authorities also continue. Out of 10 missions planned yesterday, 4 were facilitated, including the collection of fuel, tents, and baby kits from the Kerem Shalom/Kerem Abu Salem crossing. 5 missions were impeded, and a request to assess a water sanitation hygiene facility in North Gaza was denied outright. On the health front, our partners say they continue to see more people living with disabilities. Many have received amputations, while others have suffered spinal cord or brain trauma. Hundreds of people have received traumatic injuries since the ceasefire. Under an already fragile health system, these patients face challenges, especially since the entry of prosthetics and other essential devices remain heavily restricted. We and our partners continue to call for impediments to be lifted so that we can scale up assistance. Meanwhile, this week, our partners provided mental health and psychosocial support to more than 10,000 people, including women and children and frontline workers, as well as caregivers. Our partners have also opened safe spaces offering psychosocial support, mental health, and essential daily items, including menstrual hygiene supplies in Gaza. Since resuming humanitarian demining last August, UNIFIL has cleared over 12,030 square meters and destroyed nearly 2,173 anti-personnel mines— work that directly protects civilians in the area. It also protects the Lebanese Army personnel and our own peacekeepers and UN workers. Along the Blue Line, the peacekeeping mission has also fully restored 15 markers damaged during last year's escalation. With work underway for restoring more. Before the hostilities, there were 272 markers along the Blue Line. Recent assessments found 24 damaged and 33 destroyed outright. Restoring these markers not only enhances security, but also requires careful coordination with both the Lebanese Armed Forces and the Israeli Defense Forces to ensure that peacekeepers can safely clear surrounding areas of explosives. These efforts all show our peacekeeping mission's dedication to building safer communities and maintaining stability along the sensitive border. Meanwhile, turning to Madagascar, we and our partners, together with the authorities, are continuing to help people impacted by the twin cyclones, Fitia and Ghazani. We are appealing for $68 million to provide urgent life-saving assistance to more than 450,000 people in the next 3 months. The plan will prioritize women as well as children under the age of 5, students, older people, and people with disabilities. The funding will provide emergency shelter, clean water and sanitation, uh, as well as healthcare services, emergency education, nutrition, food security, and agricultural support. As of yesterday, our partners were able to provide over 2,000 families with cash for emergency shelter, while 74,000 people have received cash transfers, 124,000 have received food assistance, and more than 200 water sources have been repaired. We also distributed more than 22,000 school kits and, uh, to 35,000 students and disinfected 125 schools. We're grateful to those donors who've already mobilized $12.7 million, which part of which has gone towards vital logistics and air support support, as many roads are impassable. But there's still a funding gap, and we urgently need more contributions as soon as possible. Also in Niger, our humanitarian colleagues tell us that yesterday we and our partners, in support of the authorities, released this year's Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan, which calls for $674 million to support 2 million people. Insecurity, forced displacement, climate shocks have left 3 million people in need of humanitarian aid across the country. This year's plan will focus on civilians living in the most impacted regions of Niger where humanitarian needs are most acute. International Day, March 1st, is Zero Discrimination Day. This year's theme is People First, highlighting ongoing discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS and the need to ensure equal access to care. Sunday, is one of my favorite days of the year, World Seagrass Day. That's not funny. Seagrass is no laughing matter. Though covering just 0.1% of the ocean floor, seagrass meadows are powerful carbon sinks that help people fight climate change. We got some money today. Ready? This country's first olive trees were planted in the 13th century. Some of them were planted in the 13th century and are still bearing fruit, okay?

Italy.

Okay, just let me— siga, siga. It has over 120 million olive trees and produces 1.2 million metric tons of olive oil every year, 5th largest producer.

Greece.

Italy. Greece.

Who said Greece? I said it online. Ah, okay, Ephraim. Yeah, yeah, I know. Yeah, Ephraim's an olive oil connoisseur. So we say thank you to Greece. This country is home to the deepest lake in Central America. It is surrounded by 3 volcanoes and is very picturesque.

Guatemala?

Yes.

Whoa.

And for a bonus, the name of the lake?

Atitlán.

Okay, so we thank our friends in Guatemala, we thank our friends in Greece, we congratulate Efraim, we congratulate Edie. We now have 73 fully paid-up member states. It's a great way to start a weekend. All right, Efraim, you— if you have a question, you go first and then we'll go to Edie.

No, I'm good, thanks.

Okay, Edie.

Thank you, Steph. We were only laughing about seagrass because it isn't something that immediately comes to mind.

No, I get it.

2 questions. First, Israel's top court today suspended the halt to operations by more than 35 NGOs in the Palestinian territories. Does the Secretary-General have any comment?

Well, I mean, we've, we've been very consistent in saying that we desperately need our partners, the international NGOs and others who we work with. We as a UN system could not do what we do without that partnership. And we want to see— we want to see them being able to continue their work.

And secondly, Pakistan has said that it is in, quote, open war, close quote, with Afghanistan. I know you read a statement from the Secretary-General. Is he taking any further action like calling, trying to talk to the leaders?

Our mission, our political mission in Kabul is obviously closely monitoring the situation, in touch with people there. Various contacts are being had. When I have something a bit more public to share with you, I will. Thank you.

So a follow-up on your statement regarding— you said that half of the trucks through Egypt were sent back. So the question is, by whom, and did you get any explanation?

No, I mean, we don't have the— you know, they were sent not cleared by the Israeli authorities, as far as I'm aware. There's an issue of them We're considering some items that we feel critical not being allowed into Gaza. There's some heavy equipment, things to clear rubble with, prosthetics, all sorts of things. And we just don't have the flow of aid that we need.

And a follow-up on that, when it comes also to food, I know you— there is a rise in the numbers of what you can bring in, but also there, are you getting everything you need to get when it comes to—

No, we're not getting everything we need, and we're not— especially not getting the volume of things that we need, and it's something we keep advocating for. Yes, Pan, please.

Thank you, Steve. A number of countries have urged their nationals to withdraw from Iran, including UK, Canada, and India. So a war seems to be imminent. So does the Secretary-General have any more comments on the situation?

I mean, you know, we're seeing both, I would say, positive messages come out of the diplomatic track, which we're continuing to encourage. We're also seeing very worrying There are also military movements throughout the region, which is extremely concerning as well. These are 2 potential tracks. Clearly, we encourage everyone to focus on the diplomatic track. Okay. Nope. It's Friday. Why not?

Thank you, Steph. Just a clarification, the, the $68 million you flagged today for humanitarian aid in Madagascar, is that different from the $69 million you talked about on Tuesday, or is it the same?

I will check before I let you— we'll let you know.

Okay.

All right, anyone online? Okay, thank you all. Have a wonderful weekend. Thank you.