The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
**Security Council – Gaza
Good afternoon and it is indeed Friday, although it may not be the end of the week.
The Secretary-General, as you all saw, at the open meeting of the Security Council this morning on the situation in Gaza. He told the members of the Council that he had indeed invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter because we are “at a breaking point”.
He warned that there is a high risk of the total collapse of the humanitarian support system in Gaza, which would have devastating consequences.
While affirming that the United Nations is totally committed to staying and delivering for the people of Gaza, the Secretary-General said that under current conditions on the ground, the fulfilment of this mandate has become impossible. The conditions for the effective delivery of humanitarian aid no longer exist, he told Council members.
The Secretary-General said that there is no effective protection of civilians; that Gazans are running out of food; and that Gaza’s health system is collapsing while needs are escalating.
He urged the members of the Council to spare no effort to push for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, for the protection of civilians, and for the urgent delivery of lifesaving aid.
The eyes of the world – and the eyes of history – are watching, he said.
**Gaza
Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner General of the UN Relief and Works Agency [for Palestine Refugees in the Near East] (UNRWA), said today that he has written to the President of the UN General Assembly to inform him that UNRWA’s ability to continue delivering its mandate in Gaza has now become very limited. In an unprecedented letter, he noted that the constant bombardment and low and irregular flow of food and other humanitarian supplies into Gaza, compared with the immense needs of displaced people in UNRWA’s overcrowded shelters but also outside those shelters, adding that more than 130 UNRWA colleagues have been killed, most of them with their families. At least 70 per cent of UNRWA staff have been displaced, many multiple times.
Mr. Lazzarini said that in his 35 years of work in complex emergencies, he would never have expected to write such a letter, predicting the killing of his staff and the collapse of the mandate that UNRWA is expected to fulfill.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) tells us that last night, 69 trucks carrying humanitarian supplies and 61,000 litres of fuel entered from Egypt into Gaza. These quantities are nowhere near sufficient to meet overwhelming humanitarian needs in Gaza – not to mention that the complete lack of safety in Gaza is severely limiting access to people in need.
Rafah was the main governorate in Gaza where limited aid distributions took place yesterday. In the adjacent Khan Younis governorate, except for the delivery of medical supplies to two hospitals, aid distribution largely stopped due to the intensity of the ongoing hostilities.
Also yesterday, the World Health Organization (WHO) delivered trauma and emergency care supplies to the European Gaza Hospital and the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, to cover the needs of some 4,500 hospital patients. This was the first delivery mission to those hospitals since 29 November, despite active hostilities ongoing in the area.
**Sexual Violence in Conflict
In a statement that is being issued as we speak, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Ms. Pramila Patten, expressed her grave concern about emerging reports of sexual violence, against both men and women, while they were held captive by Hamas in Gaza.
She is concerned about civilians still held hostage by Hamas, and calls for their immediate, safe, and unconditional release.
Ms. Patten has responded positively to an invitation from the Government of Israel to conduct an official visit, which she welcomed as an opportunity to meet with survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, including recently released hostages, in order to amplify their voices, and hear their testimonies first-hand.
As a basis for the United Nations engagement, Ms. Patten calls for robust and independent investigations into all allegations of sexual violence in connection with the current conflict. In this respect, she urges the State of Israel to grant access to United Nations entities with an investigative mandate, which have promptly signalled their availability and willingness to examine the scope and the extent of these crimes, including allegations of sexual violence against Palestinians.
That is being shared with you.
**Secretary-General’s Travels
Also today, not surprisingly, the Secretary-General will be leaving New York. He will be heading first to Doha, in Qatar, this evening, to take part in the Doha Forum, whose theme is Building Shared Futures.
On Sunday, Mr. [António] Guterres will speak at the opening session where he will underscore that humanity shares one destiny and one planet and it is currently facing multiple challenges including geopolitical divides, global inequalities, raging conflicts, and climate chaos, among others.
He will call for a serious effort to bring global structures up to date, rooted in equality and solidarity, based on the UN Charter and international law.
While in Doha, he will also have bilateral meetings. And on Sunday evening, the Secretary-General will head back to the United Arab Emirates, to Dubai, for the UN Climate Conference. As in previous years, he will meet with various officials and groups at COP28 (twenty-eighth UN Climate Change Conference) before the conference is scheduled to end on Tuesday. We will have him back here on Wednesday.
**Security Council
Also, I want to flag that this afternoon, Rosemary Di Carlo, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacebuilding and Political Affairs, will be speaking to the Security Council in a closed session, to brief them on the situation between Guyana and Venezuela. That will take place in closed consultations.
**Armenia and Azerbaijan
Also, I want to tell you that the Secretary-General welcomes the joint statement issued by Armenia and Azerbaijan announcing a series of confidence-building measures and reaffirming their commitment to normalize bilateral relations. The United Nations encourages the parties to build on the agreement to advance mutual confidence and secure long-term peace for the benefit of their populations and the region.
**Haiti
Yesterday afternoon, or early evening, you will recall, we issued a on Haiti, in which the Secretary-General expressed his concern over the limited progress in the inter-Haitian dialogue towards a lasting and inclusive political solution to restore the country’s democratic institutions.
He extends his full support to the efforts of the CARICOM (Caribbean Community) Eminent Persons Group and to the UN Office in Haiti to facilitate sustainable and nationally-owned solutions to Haiti’s political crisis.
**Democratic Republic of the Congo
Also from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, our colleagues at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs say they are concerned by the escalation of hostilities in the country’s east, specifically in North Kivu’s Masisi territory.
Yesterday morning, local sources reported that people in several villages were fleeing their homes near Mushaki – about 45 kilometres from Goma – due to fighting between the Congolese army and armed groups.
One of the villages impacted is Bihambwe – a place where thousands of men, women and children had sought refuge – and which has now been emptied of its civilian population, including some 60,000 displaced people who had arrived between October and November.
Humanitarian access is severely limited there.
Traffic is reportedly cut off on the road linking Goma to the centre of Masisi. As you can imagine, this is likely to hamper the work of aid organizations.
Despite the difficulties, humanitarian partners have maintained their presence and are supporting communities impacted by the violence.
Between July and October, aid organizations provided support to three million of the more than five million people in urgent need of assistance in North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri provinces.
But, as we often tell you, lack of funding for the humanitarian response in DRC [Democratic Republic of the Congo] remains a critical challenge: To date, the $2.25 billion appeal to reach 10 million people in the DRC is less than 40 per cent funded at $861 million.
**Senior Personnel Appointment
Senior personnel appointment to share with you: The Secretary-General is Anita Kiki Gbeho of Ghana as his new Deputy Special Representative for the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), and she will also serve as the Resident Coordinator in South Sudan. She will also serve as the Humanitarian Coordinator. Three hats – triple-hatted people, as we call them here.
Ms. Gbeho succeeds Sara Nyanti of Liberia, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for her dedication and service to the UN.
Ms. Gbeho brings over 25 years of experience in strategic planning, coordination, and management in political, development and humanitarian affairs at UN Headquarters and in diverse conflict and post-conflict settings.
Most recently, she was the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General – Political – in the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), a post she has had since 2021. We congratulate her.
**Artificial Intelligence
The High-Level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence (AI) that was meeting yesterday is continuing its meeting today and they are wrapping them up. Members have been discussing maximizing the benefits of artificial intelligence and ensuring that its risks are diminished.
The Secretary-General is telling the group today that he looks forward to their recommendations. The interim report – containing preliminary recommendations – will be finalized by the end of this year.
And some of you – I think Toshi – have asked me about this yesterday, and I can tell you that the interim report will be made public in early January, but the exact publication date has not been made public yet. A broader and deeper report will be published next summer before the Summit of the Future.
The interim report will represent the experts’ group views on the governance, opportunities and risks of AI.
All stakeholders will have a chance to give their opinions and engage with the work of the body next year.
I also want to tell you that since this group was launched on 26 October this year, members held around 40 meetings in smaller working groups format. They have also met, as a whole, on 27 October online. The next online meeting will be on 18 December. This week’s meeting is the second plenary session and the first in person.
**Peacebuilding Support Office
Also today, the Peacebuilding Support Office of the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, in collaboration with its partners, launched the Peacebuilding Impact Hub.
This initiative, within the UN system, offers a platform to unite governments, think tanks, academia, and civil society peacebuilders to foster collective efforts to enhance evidence-based operational, political, and strategic insights. The collaboration aims to bolster the effectiveness of peacebuilding work, aligning humanitarian, human rights, and development actions to contribute significantly to the establishment of enduring and sustainable peace.
The Peacebuilding Impact Hub was launched during an event, co-hosted today by Canada, by Costa Rica, Germany, and South Sudan, and took place earlier in the premises of the Permanent Mission of Canada to these United Nations.
