Libya, Yemen, Saudi Arabia & other topics - Daily Press Briefing

Okay. Yeah. So hot in here, no? Yeah. Should we start? It's a little early. All right. As you may have seen this morning, Hannah Tete, the Secretary General's Special Representative for the United Nations in Libya, briefed the Security Council. She told members that Libya now enters a critical phase, that of advancing unified institutions and the conditions necessary for inclusive elections. Ms. Tete told council members that the consequences of Libya's divisions are visible in everyday life. Power cuts in July disrupted electricity and water supplies for hundreds of thousands of people and have continued into August in the middle of a long heat wave. Despite these challenges, Ms. Tete pointed to the meeting in Sert in July when the two chiefs of general staff from the West and the East who agreed on the principle to establish a joint border force and to undertake joint exercises, regular communications and harmonized training her full remarks. were shared with you. Turning to the situation on the Arabian Peninsula between Yemen and Saudi Arabia, I can tell you that we are deeply concerned by reports of attacks by the Houthis against targets in Saudi Arabia. Such attacks risk furthering entangling Yemen in the wider regional confrontation at a time where, as we all know, the region is already facing intense pressure and regional trade and energy flows are already under severe strain. Attacks and threats against shipping must also stop and freedom of navigation in both the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden must be upheld. We again call on the parties to respect their obligations to protect civilian, to protect civilian infrastructure through de-escalation. They need to prioritize Yemen's own national interests and the interests of its people. The special envoy, Hans Grunberg, has stressed this imperative in all his engagements with the parties. Returning to the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, I can tell you that we are deeply alarmed by the continued deterioration of security and humanitarian situations for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that in the northern West Bank yesterday, Israeli forces instructed about 10 Palestinian families in Jabal al-Nasser neighborhood in Tel Karim to leave their homes for a number of hours due to military activities near the adjacent Nur Shams camp. for Palestine refugees Israel military bulldozers excavated part of a road damaging water and sewage networks and carried out excavation work on Palestinian land before withdrawing families reportedly returned to their homes and municipal crews repaired the damaged infrastructure once Israeli security forces withdrew from the area these incidents are taking place against a backdrop of broader deterioration in the area where escalating violence expanding Israeli settler present, severe restrictions on movements and access for Palestinians and shrinking economic opportunities have become the norm. Turning to Gaza, we and our partners continue to deliver aid to support essential services and to facilitate critical the critical humanitarian operations wherever it is possible for us to do so. Since Sunday, we and our partners have successfully coordinated with Israeli authorities to carry out several missions in Gaza, including the Karim Shalom, Karim Abu Salem, and Rafah crossings to monitor humanitarian cargo and collect fuel and support medical evacuations. scale of needs remains immense our colleagues at the food and agricultural organization also warned yesterday that Gaza's agricultural capacity has been devastated a new assessment found that only 3% of crop land remains both accessible and undamaged further undermining local food production and farmers livelihoods at the same time our humanitarian Partners are concerned about the impact of continued Israeli military activities on civilians since yesterday And as of this morning, our partners leading on security and safety reported incidents involving Israeli airstrikes, shelling, gunfire, naval fire, primarily west of the so-called yellow line. That's where most of Gaza's 2.1 million residents are forced to be confined with, and that is less than half of Gaza Strip territory. Turning to Ukraine, our Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, arrived in Ukraine yesterday. Today in southern Ukraine, he visited the regions of Mykolaiv and Kherson. In Kherson, he met with displaced families at collective sites and also heard firsthand from patients at the regional hospital about the psychological toll of living in frontline areas in this war. Among the patients were victims of drone attacks who suffered severe physical injuries, including amputations. Mr. Fletcher also met regional governor in Kherson and discussed operational challenges with aid workers and local organizations. Meanwhile, our humanitarian colleagues note that attacks across Ukraine and this morning killed and injured several civilians in the Kharkiv region. The missile strike in the town of Pechenihy killed at least 10 people and left 20 injured. In the Kherson region, strikes on energy infrastructure caused widespread power outages. This is what authorities are telling our colleagues on the ground. Despite these dangers, humanitarian organizations continue to provide assistance across the country. Thanks to donor support, they were able to reach some 3 million people with at least one form of assistance in the first half of this year. 60% of people in frontline areas received support. And just to note, as you'll remember, tomorrow's World Humanitarian Day, and Mr. Fletcher will be our guest at the noon briefing virtually from Kyiv to mark that day. As you all recall, August 19th was chosen to be World Humanitarian Day as it marks the day the UN headquarters in Baghdad, on the Canal Hotel, were bombed in a terrorist attack in 2003. Tomorrow, there will be a ceremony of remembrance at 11:30 in the General Assembly's visitors area near the where the flag, the torn flag from the Baghdad, from the Canal Hotel is displayed. You're all invited to attend. Turning to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, our colleagues at the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tell us that an Ebola response team was attacked yesterday in the town of Aru in the north of Ituri Province. According to humanitarian partners, three ambulances were vandalized and an ambulance driver was injured during the incident linked to the transfer of a suspected Ebola patient. The UN senior Ebola coordinator, Julian Haines, said the damage to ambulances, which are already far too few, obviously deprives the residents of vital health services. The attack comes as humanitarian workers and health workers intensify efforts to scale up the Ebola response under increasingly challenging conditions. As of August 15th, national health authorities have reportedly has reported nearly 5,000 confirmed Ebola cases and more than 2,300 deaths with Ituri remaining the epicenter of this Ebola outbreak. Insecurity, as we told you, continues to impact civilians and humanitarian operations across the province. Humanitarian partners report that five civilians were killed and another 50 farmers were abducted during an attack on August 15th in Mombasa territory. This follows another attack earlier this month that reportedly killed 16 people and displaced more than 15,000 human beings. We call on all parties to the conflict to protect civilians, to protect health workers and humanitarian personnel and to ensure the safe delivery of life-saving assistance, health services, protecting response teams and maintaining safe access to affected communities remains essential to combating the outbreak of Ebola. And from Chad, I want to flag that Tom Fletcher, Emergency Relief Coordinator today, allocated $1 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to support the response to cholera in the country. The outbreak has now reached the western Lakh province, where newly displaced people are facing heightened risk due to lack of access to adequate water, sanitation, maternal health and other essential services. As of August 16th, 484 cholera cases and 21 deaths have been reported in three provinces in Chad, including 218 cases in Lake Lac province. Mr. Fletcher released $3 million earlier this month from CERF to fund vital aid for thousands of people displaced by violence in the province. Our humanitarian coordinator, Francois Bataliengaya, also allocated $3 million from the Regional Humanitarian Fund for West and Central Africa. And since May, armed clashes have forced more than 75,000 people, mostly women and children, to flee, with many families arriving at displacement sites that have little or no shelter, water, health, nutrition and protection services. Mr. Fletcher said the funding will help partners bolster surveillance, treatment capacity, safe water and sanitation. Turning to Afghanistan, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan has confirmed that at least 42 children between nine and 14 years old were injured in an explosion at an education center in a Barshi area of Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, that took place yesterday evening. Our thoughts are with the children and their families. The UN mission has called for an investigation to establish the exact circumstances of these incidents. Our colleagues at OCHA note that the schooling in Afghanistan already faces a number of challenges. As you know, girls are denied access to education beyond the sixth grade, and around two-thirds of the 900,000 children who return to Afghanistan remain out of school. That's 600,000 children with no access to schooling. We, along with our humanitarian partners, are supporting where possible, but continued underfunding has reduced the capacity to support the children education. And turning to Colombia, we're following the earthquake that struck the country just a week ago. We, along with our humanitarian partners, have provided assistance to 3,000 people across the department of Choco, Valle del Cauca, and Risaralda, complementing the government-led response. Our OCHA colleagues say the support includes water, sanitation, hygiene, health, and food. We've also established a coordination hub in Pereira to work alongside local authorities. Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that more than 186,000 people have been infected by the earthquake. Over 300 have lost their lives, according to local authorities. Almost 30,000 homes were damaged beyond repair and infrastructure, including hundreds of health education facilities, were also severely damaged. Assessments continue. The figure could increase. And also to note, today marks the eighth year since the passing of our late Secretary General, Kofi Annan. And on that note, Edie, I will turn to you.

Thank you, Stefan. And a sad anniversary day. We have seen an upsurge in attacks by both Russia and Ukraine impacting civilians. I recall that early in the war after the invasion, the Secretary General played a key role in getting the Black Sea Grain Initiative started. Is he taking any steps now to try to get both sides together to bring an end to this war?

I don't have anything to share with you at this point, but indeed, I think that the assessment that you unveiled is one that we share. We've seen an increase in drone attacks. We've seen an increase in civilian deaths, attacks on civilian infrastructure with a very negative impact on the flow of food and energy out through the Black Sea, which twinned with the ongoing issues with the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Aden is having a negative impact on the global economy.

And on a completely different subject, is there any update on the two UNAMA staffers in Afghanistan who were detained in Herat by the Taliban?

No, unfortunately not. Our two colleagues remain in detention. It's been now more than a week. We're continuing to engage with the de facto authorities in Kabul to get more information and also to get them released as they need to be released immediately. Yes, Gabriel, then Evelyn.

Thank you, Stephane. Does the Secretary General have any comment regarding Israel's airstrikes on a Syrian military airport in eastern Idlib province?

Yeah, I mean, we've seen these airstrikes. It's yet another very worrying violation of the territorial integrity and airspace of Syria. These airstrikes should stop, and we stand against them, obviously. Evelyn Denamo.

Thank you, Stefan. Does the Secretary General have any reaction to the United States romance with North Korea and downgrading its planned exercises with South Korea?

No, our position on the situation in Korean Peninsula remains very much the same. Namho.

There's been a U.S. proposal for Libya, some time has the UN mission in Libya or the Secretary-General seen that proposal does it include an election date or is it just?

I mean you should ask the US what their proposal is obviously Mistete is in touch with all key interlocutors including the United States.

It has the Secretary-General seen it that proposal.

I don't know exactly if he's actually seen it but I know he's aware of it thank you okay It's the August doldrums. Hasta mañana.