United Nations published this video item, entitled “Gaza, Chad, Afghanistan/Pakistan & other topics – Daily Briefing (21 Nov 2023) | United Nations” – below is their description.
Noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Highlights:
– Secretary-General/Travels
– Gaza
– Disarmament
– Sahrawi Refugee Response Plan
– Security Council/Ukraine
– Ukraine
– Afghanistan/Pakistan
– Chad
– Senior Personnel Announcement
– World Television Day
– Financial Contribution
GAZA
Yesterday, about 40 trucks carrying medical equipment, alongside 180 doctors and nurses, entered Gaza from Egypt.
This equipment and medical personnel are intended for the establishment of a second Jordanian field hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, with a capacity of 150 beds.
Also yesterday, the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahiya, in North Gaza, came under attack, reportedly resulting in at least 12 fatalities, including patients and their companions, alongside many injuries. This is the fifth time the hospital has been hit since the start of hostilities.
Hospitals and medical personnel are specifically protected under international humanitarian law and all parties to the conflict must ensure their protection. Hospitals must not be used to shield military objectives from attack.
The Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Lynn Hastings, yesterday appealed to all parties to the conflict to protect Palestinian and Israeli children and their rights. As of 10 November, 4,506 Palestinian children were killed and about 1,500 have been reported missing, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.
The UN Relief and Works Agency reports that as of 19 November, nearly 930,000 internally displaced persons are now sheltering in 156 UNRWA installations across all five governorates of the Gaza Strip, including in the north.
CHAD
The World Food Programme (WFP) announced that in December it will be forced to suspend food assistance to internally displaced people and refugees in Chad, who fled from Nigeria, the Central African Republic, and Cameroon due to insufficient funds.
And from January, this suspension will be extended to 1.4 million people across Chad – including new arrivals from Sudan.
According to WFP, millions in Chad already face acute food insecurity and malnutrition – particularly children – due to a confluence of calamities including the impact of the climate crisis, global economic headwinds that drive up food and fuel prices, declining agricultural production, and intercommunal tensions. The unfolding refugee crisis piles further pressure on food insecure communities that already struggle to get by.
A recent WFP food security assessment revealed that 40 percent of internally displaced people have poor food consumption – a major decline from 14 percent in 2022. Many of them are resorting to desperate measures such as selling their belongings or begging.
To ensure continued support to crisis-affected populations in Chad over the next six months, WFP urgently requires US$185 million.
AFGHANISTAN/PAKISTAN
The International Organization for Migration, together with humanitarian partners, are delivering a range of critical aid at border crossing points between Pakistan and Afghanistan in response to the hundreds of thousands of forcibly returned Afghans.
According to IOM, nearly 375,000 Afghans have left Pakistan in the past two months primarily through the Torkham and Spin Boldak border crossings.
IOM noted that the number of border crossings has dramatically increased from 200 daily to 17,000 since Pakistan’s “Illegal Foreigners’ Repatriation Plan” set a 1 November deadline for the “voluntary return” of all undocumented Afghans in Pakistan to their country of origin.
Critical aid including shelter, water, sanitation, essential household items, healthcare, protection and nutrition services, as well as cash to cover basic needs, transportation and food is being provided by the IOM-led border consortium.
The International Organization for Migration warns that the situation for women and girls in Afghanistan is exceptionally difficult, and needs are only likely to increase as winter approaches. IOM stresses that the international community must increase its support at a time when funding for the Afghan population is rapidly declining.
Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=21%20November%202023
United Nations YouTube Channel
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