Afghanistan, Colombia, Yemen & other topics - Daily Press Briefing

Hi everyone, long time no see. Hope you all are well. I have some very brief updates, I think most of which, the most important of which you know about. Just to make a note that tomorrow, Friday, August 14th, at 10 and 3 p.m., there will be informal consultations on the political declaration of the high-level meeting to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Program of Action. As you're aware, this is one of the five high-level meetings that will happen during UNGA 81. So those informal consultations are ongoing in conference room two, and that happens tomorrow. Now, what may be of most interest to you is just a reminder that next week Wednesday on the 19th of August at 3:00 PM, there will be an interactive dialogue with the seventh nominated candidate for the position of Secretary General, Mr. Olara Otunnu of Uganda, and that will take place in the Trusteeship Council at 3:00 PM. Mr. Otunnu will have a press availability in the East Foyer stakeout outside of the GA Hall shortly after the conclusion of the 00 PM. If you would like to attend the dialogue in person, you can reach out to Malu to receive a special event ticket for entry into the Trusteeship Council Chamber. And that is the update for next week. It's quiet times here in terms of actual formal meetings, but as you know, always busy behind the scenes. So those are the updates from the GA and the Office of the President. Any questions? No. Okay, excellent. Then I will rejoin you week after next. Nothing from me next week. I'm out of the office. Thanks everyone.

He's a full-on huge speaker, people. That's what you said something about an interpreter.

No, no, no, no. He'll give a stake out. He'll do a stake out as the previous. Other than the usual interpretation of the offer, he didn't ask it. No, I miss her.

Have a good night. I wish it was 1080. Well, at least it's not a triangle. Thank you.

I hope you can play some music.

Some people smoking It will use the. It's a good start.

Okay. He's gonna be back on Monday. Yes. So today you have me. Sorry, I know I'm not. No, he's gonna be back on Monday. So hello, good afternoon everyone. Tomorrow our guest, he'll be the UN Women's Special Representative in Afghanistan, Susan Ferguson, who will join us virtually to brief on the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan five years after the Taliban take over. And also in Afghanistan, we have a statement from the UN assistant mission in the country. Five years after the Taliban took power, the mission notes that Afghanistan has experienced a period of improved security while calling on the de facto authorities to take significant steps that could contribute to lasting stability for the Afghan people. The mission has pointed out that a reduction in conflict has brought tangible benefits for many Afghans and created opportunities to focus on recovery, development and regional economic cooperation. At the same time, sorry, okay. At the same time, the mission noted that significant challenges, particularly the increasingly damaging restrictions on women and girls and ongoing terrorism concerns continue to impede Afghanistan's path toward post-conflict recovery and progress towards the internationally affirmed goal of an Afghanistan at peace with itself and its neighbors. fully reintegrated into the international community and meeting its international obligations. UNAMA calls on the international community to sustain principled and pragmatic engagement that supports the aspirations of the Afghan people and advances a comprehensive approach to Afghanistan's long-term recovery and reintegration. The full statement is available online. Now turning to Colombia, Tom Fletcher, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, has allocated $5 million from the UN Centre Emergency Response Fund to support the humanitarian response in the country following the devastating earthquake. He thanks donors whose solidarity has made this possible. And from Colombia, we, along with our partners, continue to coordinate very closely with the national authorities to scale up our efforts. Our colleagues at OCHA tells us that we are deploying teams to access needs in most impacted areas. in coordination of local authorities. An interagency mission is taking place today in San Jose del Palmar, one of the most impacted areas in the department of Chocor. Our partners have also started distributing hygiene items and food shelters, food in shelters, as well as deploying technical and medical support. And this morning here at the Security Council, The Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grumsberg, briefed Council members on the situation in Yemen. He stressed that attacks and threats against shipping must stop, freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden must be upheld, and cross-border attacks must end. On the humanitarian front, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Don Fletcher warned that more than half the population is facing acute food insecurity. With the humanitarian appeal only 20% funded, he said that the consequences are stark. Rations are cut, clinics closed, and protection services disappear. Both officials called for the immediate release of the 73 UN colleagues still arbitrarily detained by the Hutus, as well as NGOs, civil society and diplomatic personnel and former staff who remain detained. 30 p.m., Ms. Takwa Karman, Yemeni human rights defender and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, will speak to reporters at the Security Council's stakeout. And now turning to the occupied Palestinian territory, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warns that reported airstrikes on populated areas in Gaza risk increasing harm to civilians. At least three airstrikes have been reported since yesterday, including one near Al-Ahmar Hospital in Khan Younis earlier today. Meanwhile, humanitarian operations continue. In the first nine days of August, our humanitarian partners provided monthly food assistance to nearly 60,000 households. Each of them received three parcels and one 25 kilogram flour bag, enough to cover more than 100% of people's minimum calorie needs. This is on the top. of nearly 700,000 meals that around 100 kitchens are preparing every day with the support of our partners. These meals are being served in more than 1,000 locations across the Strip. In addition, over 2,000 subsidized bakeries produce around 100,000 two kilogram bread bundles every day for people in need. Our partners working to support people's shelter needs reported that last week they provided more than 3,300 households with emergency shelters and other items, including through vouchers. The provisions included nearly 500 new tents, a similar number of tarpaulins, thousands of bedding items and thousands of solar lanterns to keep people safe at night. Still, more funding is needed, as well as approval to bring in longer lasting shelter items. And meanwhile, our partners working to address the threat of explosive hazards in Gaza say they recently referred a 13-year-old child for follow-up support after he was injured by explosive ordnance last Tuesday in North Gaza. To prevent such incidents, nine Mine Action partners are regularly assessing explosive hazards. Last week, they carried out 18 such assessments to pave the way for rubble removal, the setting up of new shelters, and the resumption of farming. While our partners still lack the permissions and equipment to remove explosive ordnance safely, they are also helping protected people by marking hazards and by educating civilians on how to be aware of explosive items. More than 15,000 people participated in awareness raising sessions related to explosive ordinance last week alone. In the West Bank, our humanitarian partners say that violence linked to settler activity and operations carried out by Israeli forces continues with further reports of Palestinians being displaced from their homes. To respond to people's needs, our partners working to support the health sector are operating a network of 870 service points, including 230 mobile clinics designated to help communities that are underserved, including where the building of clinics and other structures is effectively banned. They warned that checkpoints, road closures, and operations by Israeli forces continue to delay or prevent the movement of ambulance, mobile health teams, patients, and health workers. Moving to Lebanon, this week, our UN mission in the country, UNIFIL, continued to observe violations of Lebanese airspace. Between Monday and Wednesday, they detected 100 airspace violations by drones and fighter aircraft. They also observed four strikes in the vicinity of Mansouri al-Mansouri sector west. During the same period, UNIFIL recorded 427 trajectories, all of them attributed to the IDF. UNIFIL did not detect any projectiles launched by Hezbollah. Yesterday, UNIFIL peacekeepers discovered four improvised explosive devices at a road near Brachit in Sector West. A specialized team from the Lebanese Armed Forces subsequently neutralized all the devices. On Monday, peacekeepers discovered two anti-tank mines and one 100 mill unexploded ordinance northwest of Chakra in Sector East. These were neutralized through a controlled detonation. And this week, UNIFIL peacekeepers continue to observe extensive IDF ground activities throughout the mission's area of operations, including large-scale armored deployments, engineering workers, logistical movements, tactical patrols, and force concentrations across both sectors. Yesterday in Sector East, UNIFIL observed two IDF tanks firing from an IDF tank towards Rabbat Talatin and small arms rounds fired near Mercy Al-Jabal in Shebaa. In Sector West, peacekeepers observed 12.7mm test firing from a Merkava tank near Alma Al-Shab and 25mm cannon fire directed towards Al-Nakura. Our peacekeepers also encountered several impediments and restrictions to their freedom of movement across the area of operations and incidents of aggressive behavior. On the humanitarian front, between Monday and Wednesday, UNIFIL in coordination with OCHA facilitated 13 humanitarian missions in Sector West, And on training last week, UNIFIL naval peacekeepers from its maritime task force conducted a four-day survival at sea course with the Lebanese Navy near the coast of Jounieh. Participants included newly recruited Lebanese Navy personnel, received instructors in various fields regarding emergency at sea. And from Syria, our High Commissioner for Refugees, Bahram Saleh, today concluded a week-long visit to Syria. In Damascus, he met with President Ahmad al-Sharaat and the Foreign Minister Assad al-Shaybani, as well as other officials. During his meetings, he stressed that UNHCR is working closely with Syrian authorities, UN agencies and development partners to address immediate humanitarian needs and create conditions for sustained return of refugees. Mr. Saleh called on the international community to scale up support to Syrians, saying the country stands at a critical juncture as growing numbers of refugees and internally displaced people return after years of conflict. While in Syria, The High Commissioner also visited Idlib and Aleppo, where he met with displaced families, returnees, and local communities. Nearly four million Syrian refugees remain in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt, while approximately 5.5 million people are still displaced inside Syria. Any returns, the High Commissioner stressed, must be safe, voluntary and dignified. And I have one last note here in Ukraine. I want to flag that the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission today said that more civilians were killed or injured in the country in July 2026 than in any month since March 2022. marking a new high in this year's escalation of civilian harm. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission verified that at least 437 civilians were killed and 2,610 injured in Ukraine in July, which is a 30% increase compared with the previous month and a 70% increase compared with July 2025. The actual figure is likely higher as the monitoring mission continues to verify information. You can find more information on this online. Now up to you. Edie, please.

Thank you very much. Is there any update on the two UNAMA staffers who were detained in Herat over the weekend by Taliban forces.

We don't have any update on that, but we will double check with our colleagues at UNAMA.

And secondly, on airstrikes in Gaza in the recent day, I believe you said that a hostel was hit today. Were there any casualties?

We were not informed by my colleagues on casualties, but I will also double check this information. But I believe that the answer is no.

I mean, one would assume that there were quite a few people in the hostel.

Yes, we are going to double check on this for you, Edie.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Thank you, Daniela. On Afghanistan as well, As you mentioned, the 15th will be the fifth year anniversary since the Taliban took over Kabul. We have had several extensive briefings here with emphasis on what the international community is calling for, whether it has to do with women and girls, security, not turning the country into safe haven for terrorism and all, but we haven't seen any progress on the ground. In fact, some people seem to believe that there has been a regression. in the way Taliban is dealing with the world. And I wonder how does the Secretary General feel about that on this anniversary? Thank you.

You know, as Yunus said, actually, there were some sectors that there was some progress, but we're still seeing the same issues related to, for example, women and girls, like we have recently UN brief, UN guests here briefing from OCHA, speaking on the humanitarian situation. Yesterday, we saw that our very strong report from UNESCO and also from UN Women speaking how, for example, 50% of the women barely leave their homes because of the policies in place. But as the mission has said, we need to still work that our mission, our colleagues in Afghanistan from the UN mission or UN agencies or from the UN system in general will still continue to work on Afghanistan to bring process, progress, and will continue to do so. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Daniella. On the Strait of Hormuz, both the U.S. and Iran claim that they control the Strait. Is the UN in a position that can confirm which country control the Strait?

We are not in, I think our colleagues are from IMO to have more information on that. We have seen the reports today on that from our part. I wouldn't be able to confirm this for you here, but from our part, what we continue to call is for the parties to sit around the table negotiate and come and resolve their outstanding issues through diplomacy. Diplomacy is the only way to resolve these issues. And what we want in the Strait of Hormuz, as you know, is for the Strait of Hormuz to be back on freedom of navigation. Thanks. Please.

Thank you. So today, President Vladimir Putin has visited Japan's Northern Territory, occupied Northern Territory. Does United Nations have any comment on this visit?

What I can say, tell you is that this is a bilateral issue between member states, but we encourage all concerned to exercise restraint, to act responsibly, and to avoid any actions that may escalate tensions further. Thanks. Do we have any further questions in the room? Okay, so thank you very much for today. Have a good, great afternoon, everyone. Thank you.