Palestine, Venezuela, South Sudan & other topics - Daily Press Briefing

Greetings. Just a short while, I will be joined online by Stephanie Hochstatter, the World Food Program's country director in Venezuela. She will be briefing you from the port city of La Guardia to speak to you about obviously the situation in Venezuela post earthquakes and WFP's critical work. Tomorrow at 11 a.m., there'll be a briefing here to introduce the preliminary report of the Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence. The Secretary General is expected to be here to make some opening remarks and then the briefing will be conducted by the co-chairs of the report, Joshua Benjo of Canada and Maria Resa of the Philippines. They will be presenting the findings ahead of the inaugural Global Dialogue on AI Governance, which is scheduled for Geneva the 6th and 7th of July. The two co-chairs will be participating virtually, but the Secretary General will be here in person. Also tomorrow, at some point in the afternoon, there will be a briefing by Ambassador Zinon Mukongo N'Gai, the permanent representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who will be here in his capacity as president of the Security Council for the month of July. We don't have an exact time, but We will get one as soon as we receive one. Just to add to your homework, we may also have a short briefing by the Comptroller Chandru tomorrow at some point, given the expected vote in the General Assembly later today. There she is. It's just in. Stop the presses. There we go. Thank you. This morning, the Secretary General told Member States at a meeting for voluntary contributions to the UN Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, that today's event is happening while the safety and welfare of millions of Palestine refugees hang in the balance. in Gaza Mr Guterres noted Israeli attacks have killed more than a thousand Palestinians since and despite the ceasefire announced last October he warned that despite all services it provides to Palestine Palestinians throughout the Middle East unwa situation is increasingly precarious it faces sweeping restrictions throughout the occupied Palestinian territory and a cash shortfall that imperils its work across the region the secretary general says he's deeply concerned about unwa liquidity crisis which jeopardizes its ability to implement its own mandate. Earlier this year, UNHCR was compelled to reduce its service delivery by hours by 20% that meant that reducing salaries for most local personnel and keeping 15% of the international post of the agency vacant he added that he is appalled by continuing efforts to marginalize and undermine UNWA through disinformation through smear campaigns through legislative actions through operational restrictions and diplomatic roadblocks and more his full remarks were shared with you I think we've also shared the Remarks by the Acting Commissioner General Christian Saunders. My UNHCR colleagues tell us they will be able to give you the total of fresh money in the pledging conference most likely tomorrow afternoon. It's going to take some time to count, hopefully. Turning to the occupied Palestinian territory, our OCHA colleagues tell us that humanitarian teams in Gaza are assessing the needs of those affected by yesterday's airstrike on Al Muwasi area in Khan Younis. Initial information suggests in addition to the killing of a mother and a baby girl, more than 150 families had their tents destroyed. The tents of 250 other families were also damaged. Survivors have told our partners that Israeli authorities had warned them of an imminent attack. We and our partners will support the newly displaced or affected through rapid joint distributions mechanisms. More generally, our safety and security colleagues tell us that most military activity, including air strikes, naval fire shooting occurred west the so-called yellow line in the last 24 hours ending at 8 a.m. this morning local time they add that civilian casualties were also reported in several of those attacks meanwhile our partners leading on health are warning of a rise in chickenpox cases across the Gaza Strip in just two weeks they recorded nearly 9,300 cases across more than 130 health facilities over half of these cases were in Khan Yunis our partners linked this search to deteriorating environmental conditions, overcrowding, sanitation and hygiene gaps. We and our partners are sending antihistamines, antibiotics, fever relievers and other essential medicine. We're also scaling up water trucking to displacement sites, intensifying chlorination, enhancing latrine cleanings as well as disinfection. 100 health promoters are also being deployed in prioritized locations to educate people on isolation practices and how to seek medical assistance early on. But our partners warn that this response is not enough to expand treatment coverage. They need more resources. They need more hygiene kits, unimpeded access to affected areas, and of course, sustained funding. Turning to the West Bank, yesterday Israeli forces killed 15-year-old child during a search operation in Ramallah. We've seen reports that Israeli forces are now looking into that incident, a reminder that law enforcement lethal force can only be used as a last resort. Meanwhile, today Israeli forces entered UNRWA's oldest vocational training facility, the Qalandia Training Center that is in East Jerusalem. Our colleagues from UNRWA report that Israeli forces took pictures of the premises and announced the center to close, although no documents or official orders were handed over. The center serves hundreds of students from refugee camps across the West Bank, including many who face difficult socioeconomic conditions and benefit from free education services at that facility. Today's rage raids reaches the inviolability of UN premises and I and violated Israelis of Israel's obligations concerning the privileges and immunities of the United Nations. UNRWA is an integral part of this organization and of the humanitarian community and operates under a clear mandate of the United Nations General Assembly. Such actions obstruct our efforts to provide humanitarian support to people in need. And this morning, Secretary General also addressed via pre-recorded video message the opening of the ninth World Congress against the Death Penalty that took place in France. He noted that the movement towards universal abolition is advancing and more and more countries are committing to end this cruel practice. But progress cannot be taken for granted, he said, stressing that it demands vigilance, demands courage and sustained resolve. He pointed out that death penalty does not deliver justice. It is an inhumane form of punishment. It puts innocent lives at risk and has no place in the 21st century. The Secretary General underscored that the UN remains fully committed to the universal abolition of the death penalty firmly and without any exceptions. Our Deputy Secretary-General, as we told you, is in London at a gathering of the sustainable development in an era of flux. She will then travel onwards to Geneva on July 1st as part of the broader UN80 consultation process. In Geneva, she'll meet with senior UN officials from across the system, member states, and other key stakeholders. Turning to Venezuela, we and our humanitarian partners are continuing to scale up lifesaving assistance in support of the government-led efforts. You'll hear a lot about WFP's work, but just taking a bit broader picture, our colleagues at the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tell us that international search and rescue operations are fully operational with more than 50 rescue teams and over 2,300 personnel working side by side with national authorities. As the critical window for live rescues narrows, humanitarian partners are expanding emergency support in health, shelter, water and sanitation, and logistics in La Guardia and other affected municipalities. Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that efforts are being further complicated by the passage of a tropical wave and continued heavy rainfall impacting Venezuela. These conditions are increasing the risk of additional collapse as well as landslides in already impacted areas. This poses a significant challenge to search and rescue operation and complicates the delivery of shelter, health and other essential services. National authorities are issuing the public safety guidance and monitoring high risk zones. We and our partners are working closely with them to ensure coordinated response to affected communities. In response to the earthquake, a 47 metric ton shipment of UNICEF humanitarian supplies arrived in Venezuela today to support children and families in need. The includes emergency health kits for urgent medical care including supplies for safe birth newborn care disease prevention and treatment it also has water purification and storage supplies to help provide safe drinking water tents for child friendly spaces and service points mobility aids including wheelchairs and recreational and early childhood development supplies to help children regain some sense of normalcy after the quake UNICEF noted this shipment along with the regional one that arrived from Panama on June 28th, will support an estimated more than 100,000 children and families over a period of three months. UN Refugee Agency, for its part, is also supporting local authorities with tools and equipment for the safe collection of management and information. At the same time, emergency supplies are being transported from UNHCR's local warehouse in Tachira to La Guaira, with additional capacity to mobilize more than 20 metric tons of relief items from UNHCR's global stockpile in Panama to further bolster assistance. UNHCR partner Caritas has also established a donation collection and storage center, including with UNHCR's tents and a rub hole, don't know what a rub hole is, but they're supplying a rub hole to support eight distribution for its part. Sorry. You'll hear more from WFP. And just in South Sudan, wanted to flag that we are deeply saddened by the killing of five humanitarian workers whose convoy operated by a local partner was ambushed yesterday in Duke County in Jonglei State. Four others were injured and several civilians were reportedly killed or injured. We and our resident humanitarian coordinator, we join our resident humanitarian coordinator, Ramathan Balakrishnan, in strong condemning this attack our colleagues tell us that their convoy was clearly marked as a humanitarian convoy attacks on humanitarian workers are unacceptable and violate international humanitarian law. We call for a prompt investigation and for those responsible for this heinous attack to be held to account. Since January 29, humanitarian workers and contractors have been killed in South Sudan while trying to serve communities in need. Separately, our peacekeeping mission there, UNMISS, today released a new report documenting a sharp rise in civilian deaths. Between January and March, more than 760 civilians were killed. That's an 89 percent increase compared to the previous quarter. The mission also recorded a significant increase in conflict-related sexual violence. The special representative for the Secretary-General ahead of the mission, Anita Kiki Gebheho called for all parties to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law and human rights law. And from the Central African Republic, OCHA warns that the humanitarian situation in the prefecture of Ombombo in the southeast of the country is deteriorating amid persistent insecurity and constrained humanitarian access. Civilians face serious threats, including abduction and violence. Cases of disappearance, intimidation, attacks against civilians continue to be reported, which leads to an atmosphere of fear and increased vulnerability in communities already affected by displacement and limited access to basic services. Meanwhile, our humanitarian access is increasingly restricted due to insecurity along key transport routes, particularly along roads around Zemio. This month, staff from humanitarian partners have been intercepted. They've been threatened. They've been temporarily detained and assaulted. These incidents follow similar attacks at the end of May and underscore a broader trend of insecurity impacting aid operations across the southeast of the Central African Republic. The in the prefecture of Bumbu is also considered high risk of Ebola transmission due to its proximity to the DRC. This adds another layer of vulnerability for people with limited access to health care. We and our humanitarian partners continue to call for the protection of civilians, safe, sustained and unhindered access for humanitarian actors to reach who they need to reach. I want to flag a couple of reports. The UN Economic Commission for Europe today released a report warning that across Europe Central Asia and North America inland transportation systems roads railways inland waterways ports and airports are expected to face significantly more adverse climate conditions by 2051 to 2080 key risks include flooding high temperatures reduce snow ice and permafrost and sea level rise the full report with advice on how to deal with this is online also our colleagues at UNDP published a new assessment warning the current Ebola outbreak in the DRC is creating a socioeconomic crisis that could push close to a million people into poverty. Sadly, as is often the case, UNDP says women are disproportionately suffering from the economic and health fallouts. The assessment says that Ebola crisis could eliminate tens of thousands of jobs, disrupt education, healthcare services, and could also cost African economies up to 3.6 billion dollars. billion if broader regional and global shocks intensify. The report, along with cost proposals to mitigate the impact, is online. Also, UNICEF, in a report today, says that many children are adopting AI, and you won't be surprised here, they're adopting it at rates that are three times faster than adults. That includes all of you here. UNICEF analysis is based on data from 10 countries and estimates at least 20 million children have used artificial intelligence to support their learning and homework, but also to seek advice on things that worry them. Ahead of the global governance dialogue on AI governance, which as you know will take place next week in Geneva, UNICEF is calling on governments, the private sector, partners to embed child rights, especially the right to safety and protection in global AI governance. There's more in a press release. I want to flag this afternoon, the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs will launch a new publication entitled UN Special Political Missions, 1945-2025, an overview. It's the first comprehensive public record of the history of UN special political missions, tracing their evolutions from the establishment of the UN mediator for the truce in Palestine in '48 to the 167 special political missions deployed by the UN over the last 80 years there'll be a launch event at 3 p.m. hosted by Rosemary de Carlo the head of the political and peacebuilding department followed by a panel discussion that'll give you two hours before a very critical football game at 5 p.m. I would advise you to look up today because it is International asteroid day observe to raise the awareness of asteroid impact hazards and strengthen international cooperation on planetary defense the day marks the anniversary of the 1908 Tunguska impact on Siberia the explosion of asteroids flattened an estimated 80 million trees over more than 2,000 square kilometers which is about the equivalent of the area of the Moscow city limits today is also the International Day of parliamentarism it highlights the vital that of parliaments in democracy representation accountability we have a quiz today Chris ready today's it's a tale of extremes yesterday I think you correctly guessed what the largest biggest country in Africa is by area today we want to test your knowledge further which is the smallest country by area on mainland Africa sorry Sorry, Guinea-Bissau, Rwanda, Guinea-Bissau, no, no, no, no, no. All right, we only have 45 countries left. The Gambia. So we thank our friends in the capital. What's the capital of Gambia? No, you guys are pathetic. Banjul. Are you accredited to the United Nations?

Yes.

Okay. We thank our friends in Banjul for their full payment to the regular budget. We now have 118 paid up members. The Gambian people sent us $31,790. We thank them. Gabriel, we thank you for your question and your service.

Okay. Steph, tomorrow on the AI report that's really going to be released or at least a preliminary version that SG will be in this room, right? Physically, yeah. Yeah, and the guests will be virtual.

That is correct.

Got it. And do you know if he'll be fielding questions from the esteemed press corps related to AI?

I wouldn't put too much money on Polly Market on that, but you never know.

Okay. And one other one, Steph, we watched the SG's remarks at the UNRA contributions meeting for lack of better word um he laid out the case that we all the the facts that we all know 390 uh unr staff killed since October 2023 every single unr building either damaged or destroyed uh among other things he called it a liquidity crisis um given what unr has been facing the last couple years Does he also see UNRWA's facing an existence crisis? And what I mean by that is, does the SG see any scenario where UNRWA cannot exist anymore in his eyes?

Look, there is a existential crisis, right? So to speak, we've seen the rights of we've seen the lack of financial support. We've seen the rights of UNRWA trampled. As I just even mentioned today, there is a continuing, I mean, UNRWA continues to receive a mandate from the General Assembly. They are meant to implement it. That's what the secretary does. We receive mandates. There are millions of Palestine refugees in the occupied Palestinian territory, in Lebanon, in Syria, in Jordan that rely on UNRWA for basic services. And until a different or better solution is found, we need to support UNRWA. Yes, sir.

Thank you. Can you update us on the unpaid dues of the United States, both in for the regular budget and the peacekeeping budget? By the way, does China owe the UN anything?

Yes, I think there is still an open tab from the People's Republic of China. No updates to share with you on US contributions. As I mentioned, we expect the Comptroller to brief you at some point tomorrow. There was a critical decision taken in the fifth committee yesterday. We hope they will be and expect it to be validated by the General Assembly this afternoon, having to do with the budget. And we look forward to confirming that to you later this afternoon.

Do you have the numbers now for the unpaid dues of the United States?

I don't have any new numbers, but we'll get those to you.

You do mean that the February uh numbers still stand about $4 million?

Math was not my strong point that's why I have the job that I have so I will uh get back to you yes Eric.

In uh 2023 the SG said he favored an international regulator for AI do you expect him to uh does he still have that position to repeat?

That I mean I think you've heard what the SG has been saying on on AI uh and his main message is for governments, AI companies, civil society to get together to ensure that there are guardrails in place to ensure that there is transparency on how AI operates, which I think was one of his strong points he made in his speech in London on climate. It is a technology that is running extremely fast and the impact is not always thought through. And there are a lot of unknown unknowns. So I would encourage you to wait for the SG's remarks tomorrow. Okay. Thank you very much. I'd