Seafarers, West Bank & other topics - Daily Press Briefing

All right.
Good afternoon.
In a short while, I will be joined virtually by our guest, Paula Narvaz, the Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean for UNFPA.
She'll be briefing us from Chile, but just returned from a visit to Venezuela where she was on the ground to assess the needs of women and girls in the aftermath of the devastating quakes that hit Venezuela.
The Secretary-General is in Aman in Jordan, and from there tomorrow morning, he will head to Damascus for the scheduled visit that we have been telling you about.
Meanwhile, our Deputy Secretary-General Mina Mohammed arrived in Mexico City yesterday evening.
She's participating there in the second convening on artificial intelligence and human development, which brings together leaders from the region to assess how one's humanities most transformative technologies is reshaping human progress.
The convening follows the first gathering held in Cairo last month.
Outcomes of this region to region series will help inform discussions ahead of the 81st session of the General Assembly, including on the implementation of the Pact for the future.
While in Mexico City, she will also meet with the foreign Secretary of Mexico, Roberto Velazquez Alvarez.
Their discussions will focus on Mexico's partnership with the United Nations, including its initiative in its engagement with the UN AD initiative as well as other regional developments.
We expect our Deputy Secretary-General to be back tomorrow.
Turning to the situation in the Middle East, I can tell you that the Secretary-General is deeply alarmed by the resumption of Houti attacks on commercial vessels transiting in the Red Sea and the renewed threats to maritime navigation.
The attacks on commercial vessels claimed by the Houtis risk further heightening regional tensions and widening of the current cycle of escalation with the potential to draw Yemen deeper into the regional conflict.
Further hostilities in Yemen will undermine prospects for peace and cause serious economic, humanitarian, and environmental consequences across and beyond the region.
The Secretary-General calls for an immediate de escalation and urges Houtis to refrain from any further attacks or other escalatory actions in line with Security Council Resolution 27 22 and subsequent relevant resolutions concerning attacks against commercial vessels and freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.
International navigational rights and freedom in and around the Babel Mandab must be fully restored.
Meanwhile, Hans Grundberg, our the Secretary-General rather personal envoy for Yemen, said that over the past weeks he's engaged intensively with Yemeni regional and international actors.
That his priority remains to preserve the gains of the 2022 truce, to prevent a return to a wider conflict, and create the conditions for an inclusive political process.
Mr.
Greenberg said it is still possible to change course and move towards negotiations that address Yemen's political, economic, and security challenges and put the interests of people at its center.
A negotiated political settlement in Yemen would also contribute to greater stability in the region.
Meanwhile, I want to flag a statement released by our friend George More De Silva, the Executive Director of UNPS.
He said the UN task force for the Strait of Hormuz that he has been coordinating has developed in consultation with relevant parties, a practical confidence building mechanism to facilitate safe, orderly and predictable maritime transit through the Strait of Hormuz with a specific focus on fertilizers and related raw materials to prevent a massive food crisis.
The last four months, the task force team has consulted extensively with member states and has received overwhelming support, particularly from the most vulnerable countries.
This mechanism is ready to become operational subject to the will of all parties in the conflict and in the region.
Mr.
Mauro de Silva said it is time to give a chance to an operational mechanism to build confidence and to build trust.
He continues to engage with all relevant parties through the task force while reiterating the Secretary-General own call for restraint and de escalation.
And a couple of other things on related matters.
I want to flag for you, our Senior Dominguez, Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization unequivocally condemned the latest reported attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea area.
These attacks are indefensible.
He said they endangered the lives of seafarers while threatening the security of international shipping, of the safety and security of marine environment, and the stability of the global supply chains.
Meanwhile, Volker Türk, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, also called for urgent action to remedy the plight of thousands of stranded seafarers who are facing a dire humanitarian and human rights crisis.
Across the strait of Hormuz.
He said his office has received information that some seafairs have been abandoned at sea by ship owners who have left them without support, without repatriation plans, or even without paying their wages.
Turning to the West Bank, the occupied Wes Bank, Ramiz Abkharov as you know, is our deputy special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, said today the continued loss of civilian life across the occupied West Bank is deeply alarming.
He said today's violent incident southwest of Nablus, which resulted in the killings of four Palestinians two Israelis injuries to several others and extensive damage to Palestinian property underscore the urgent need to protect civilians and prevent further escalation in the occupied West Bank.
Mr.
Akbaov said Israel must take immediate steps to prevent settler violence, to protect civilian communities, and ensure those responsible for attacks are held accountable.
He said Palestinian must unequivocally reject violence and incitement to take immediate steps to prevent attacks against Israelis.
The full statement is online.
And I also want to flag some humanitarian updates from Gaza where UNICEF and especially regarding water shortages, our colleagues at UNICEF says they've installed two water wells connected to the water network and power supply at the Nitzarim displacement site in Gaza.
The well will provide water to 6,500 displaced people.
Half of those are children.
That comes as part of a wider relief efforts to establish ten new wells for displaced families across Gaza.
On the health front, we and our humanitarian partners collected more than 18 truckloads of medical supplies and temperature sensitive medicine from the Krim Shalom Keri Ab Salam crossing on Wednesday and the World Health Organization, which facilitated the the entry of insulin syringes, baby aspirin, and other essential supplies.
However, a critical shortage remains, such as cardiovascular medicine, blood pressure monitors.
Meanwhile, during the second and third week of this month, our partners continue to provide essential services for patients in Gaza.
However, WHR and our partners report that just 60% of hospitals and field hospitals are operational and some only partially.
Further and only partially.
Further, since the beginning of the year and as of the end of June, WHO in Gaza has recorded 28 health attacks on healthcare, mostly in Communist and Rafah, resulting in casualties affecting health, transport, and health facilities.
Finally, I just want to correct something I said at the briefing and I'm sure you've been paying attention.
Our humanitarian partners providing emergency assistance to displaced families in Dalbala with support from the UN Humanitarian Fund have plans to reach about 20,000 families across Gaza and not people, as I said yesterday.
Turning to South Sudan, the Secretary-General special envoy for the Horn of Africa, Guang Kong undertook a visit to Juba to engage with senior government officials in South Sudan and other stakeholders on the joint political and security mechanism between Sudan and South Sudan, as well as other Abe related issues.
The discussion focused on the importance of urgency of resuming the JPSM and the demilitarization of Abe area and the differing views of the two governments regarding the participation of Abe residents in elections in South Sudan, which are scheduled for December of this year.
The special envoy welcomed the commitment of both governments to restart the JPSM and encouraged its resumption as soon as possible.
In Sudan, I just want to flag some announcement from UN women who tell us they're gravely concerned by the emerging pattern of violence against women and girls in El Obaid in Sudan where drone attacks during the day and sexual violence at night have left no safe window for women and girls to collect water.
That mirrors the atrocities documented in Al Fasi last year.
UN Women has heard from women and girls in El Abid that due to drone strikes targeting water sources and distribution points during daylight hours, they are forced to wait until after nightfall to collect water.
These women and girls have been harassed, they've been raped, they've been subjected to other forms of sexual violence as they are just trying to get water.
UN women's data shows that the number of women and girls requiring gender based violence services in Sudan has quadrupled since the conflict began, now reaching an estimate, 12.7 million women and girls this year alone.
We often flag here the dangers of funding shortfalls for humanitarian work and today's update from Burundi shows us why.
Colleagues at the World Food Program warned that food assistance for more than 130,000 refugees in Bruundi risk drawing down unless urgent funding is received.
Families who cross the border in search of safety and food and shelter could now possibly lose the very assistance they depend on to survive.
WFP urgently needs $35 million to sustain food and nutrition support for refugees through August of next year.
Without new resources, lifesaving food distribution will end entirely will end entirely from October of this year.
So violence violence renewed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in late 2025.
More than 100,000 human beings have been forced to flee into neighboring Burundi, more than doubling the number of refugees WFP supports.
Um, you'll hear a lot more from Venezuela, from our guests, but I just wanted to flag some things from OCHA that tell us that humanitarian needs remain immense for tens of thousands of families.
Since the first hours of the emergency, we and our partners have worked with authorities to support people in need.
Partners have reached more than 117,000 people with food, healthcare, safe water, sanitation, temporary shelter, education, nutrition, and psychosocial support.
This includes people in temporary camps, particularly in Laguria, the state hardest hit by the disaster.
According to authorities, the international community mobilized 3,000 metric tons of aid, while more than 30 countries deployed rescue teams and other technical experts.
Humanitarian organizations continue to support communities impacted by the quake and people already in need of humanitarian assistance across the country.
We're grateful for the local volunteers as well as member states and private sector partners whose generosity and support helped drive the response during the first month as today marks the first month since the earthquakes.
With humanitarian needs remaining one month on, continued international support will remain critical.
The humanitarian appeal launched following the quake has received just over 40% of the funds needed.
Additional resources are needed.
Quick update from Ukraine where today along with our humanitarian partners, we sent a humanitarian convoy carrying six metric tons of cargo consisting of medicines, dignity kits, clothing and hygiene kits to a frontline community in Kirson.
This year alone, we and our partners have delivered more than ten humanitarian convoys to support 10,000 frontline residents in the eastern Kirson region alone.
Also, last year, despite funding challenges, the Ukraine humanitarian fund was able to allocate more than $200 million worth of assistance to 660,000 people across the country.
This included lifesaving evacuation of people in frontline areas.
70% of the funding went to national responders.
Meanwhile, over the last 24 hours, our humanitarian colleagues note that attacks and hostilities across Ukraine have killed several civilians and injured more than 100 others.
The attacks also caused extensive damage to civilian infrastructure.
Our partners have provided support and shelter material to those who need it.
A number of sorry, two more notes.
Just a flag this morning, the General Assembly, they had an informal interactive dialogue on accelerating global energy transition.
Advancing renewables and mobilizing investment, Adré the dialogue, Selwyn Hart, the Secretary-General special adviser on climate action, stressed that the renewable energy revolution is unstoppable and irreversible.
The question before us, he emphasizes is no longer whether the transition will happen.
The question is, will it happen fast enough, fairly enough, and whether every country will have an equal opportunity to benefit.
Also addressing the meeting was Simon Steele, the Executive Director of the UNF triple.
C, he noted the realities of fossil fuel dependency play out in real time and increasingly clear that faster energy transition or core business for governments and core to national strategies.
Security strategies.
A number of international days.
First, World drowning prevention Day.
Very important.
The theme this year is Unite to Turn the Tide, drowning takes more than 300,000 lives a year and almost a quarter of them are children under five.
This day reminds us that drowning prevention depends on all of us doing our part.
Tomorrow is the International Day for women and girls of African descent, which calls for renewed global action to eliminate racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
This is a new one for me.
Tomorrow is the International Day on judicial well being.
Exactly.
It is essential to ensuring a fair and effective justice system.
Yet 76% of judges say they lack enough time to care for their physical and mental health.
This day not only aims to support judges, but it pushes forward anti corruption, access to justice, and sustainable peace.
You'll learn something every day, even, even in this room.
How about spokesperson well being day? Every day is my well being day.
I will answer questions should you have any.
Emily, please.
Thanks, Steve.
I know you were already asked a question linked to that yesterday, but about Volker Türk and the decision this afternoon at the General Assembly.
Now Russia has introduced alternative text proposing to extend the mandate only until the end of this year.
The argument seeming to be that the next Secretary-General should be the one deciding on the next high commissioner.
What is the Secretary-General position on that? Well, listen, member states will live up to their responsibilities.
They will vote on resolutions for or against.
We're not going to comment on the various proposals that are put forward.
What I can tell you is that the Secretary-General is doing things in a very transparent manner in following the rules and his authority as laid out in the relevant General Assembly resolution.
Consultations were had with member states prior to this, with regional groups.
Now the General Assembly will make the decision and adopt the resolution that they'll adopt.
Ephraim.
Thank you so much on the new mechanism that was developed by NOPs to facilitate the safe passage of especially fertilizers.
Do we know any more details about this mechanism, what it looks like, and also when he says, subject to the will of the relevant parties, what needs to happen now to get such mechanism in motion? I mean, this is a reminder that George and the task force put together this mechanism now a few months ago, right? It is ready to deploy a But obviously, we need the agreement of the parties.
It would include verification mechanisms, trust building mechanisms.
This is what UNOS does.
They're ready to deploy fairly quickly.
I think the point of reminding the parties of the existence of this is the fact that we are in this position right now where there's just a stranglehold on commercial traffic through the Strait of Horboz We saw it in the beginning of this conflict.
We saw the impact it had on price of fertilizers and food going out.
It's just a very, I think, vocal and clear reminder that this option exists.
Islam.
Thank you, Stephan.
Just to follow up the same question, since you brought up that mechanism and also has been touched, has been talk with the sides in that regard.
Is there any time frame, especially when the tension is increasing over there and also in the Red Sea another tension is also involving in this conflict.
The time frame that we have is from our side that this can be deployed in a matter of weeks, if not short, very quickly.
The point is, We can't impose anything.
It's a matter of when the parties, the belligerents in this conflict, say, yes, this is a good idea, we want to go forward with this.
If I may ask another question, Stephanie, yesterday, the six candidates for the next Secretary-General participated in debate.
I we understand that the Secretary-General doesn't wish to involve in this process, but listening to those candidates and especially considering the unprecedented times, what is the Secretary-General hopes? Can you reiterate again for the future of this organization as well as for the international peace? The Secretary-General hopes that the member states will select the best possible candidate.
I think the Secretary-General has also spoken in the past, and as has the Deputy Secretary-General about the need to finally have a woman helming this organization, but in the end, it is in the hands of member states.
Any questions online? Yes, I have a question.
Yes, go ahead, Absufan.
I think you notice that on India, there is a protest going on, I think, nearly one month, so it's I think nearly one month.
And Indian police already endure hundreds of students, and they are demanding retion of education minister and, you know, uh, uh, the changes of the Egyptian system.
So what's you position on this particular? We are obviously very much aware of the protests that we've seen in New Delhi.
It is important that people wishing to protest peacefully be allowed to do so without the fear of harassment, the fear of arrest, or the fear of injury.
And it is incumbent on security forces there as it is everywhere to ensure that those rights are protected.
Thank you all.
We're going to go to our guests.
If we can put our guest on the screen, that would be