United Nations published this video item, entitled “Sudan, Black Sea Initiative & other topics – Daily Press Briefing (11 May 2023)” – below is their description.
Noon briefing by Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Highlights:
– Sudan
– Sudan/Humanitarian
– Black Sea Initiative
– Occupied Palestinian Territory
– Democratic Republic of The Congo
– Central African Republic
– Cameroon
– Somalia
– Haiti
SUDAN
The Security Council will hold closed consultations on the situation in Sudan this afternoon. The Special Representative of the Secretary- General and head of the political mission, Volker Perthes, will brief via videoconference as well as Martin Griffiths our own Humanitarian Coordinator, this afternoon in closed consultations.
And you will have seen that in the Palais des Nations in Geneva, the Human Rights Council held a special session today to address the human rights impact of the ongoing conflict. Volker Türk, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, condemned the use of violence and urged all parties to protect the rights of civilians and comply with their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law.
SUDAN/HUMANITARIAN
Our humanitarian colleagues are telling us there are continued shortages of food, water, fuel and cash in many parts of Sudan due to the fighting.
In the eastern parts of the country, our humanitarian partners on the ground are saying that the prices of goods have increased almost four-fold compared to those before the conflict.
According to the World Health Organization, in Khartoum, less than one fifth of health facilities remain fully functional, with 60 per cent of health facilities being completely non-operational.
Despite the security situation, health workers have been able to reactivate some health facilities in North and South Darfur to provide emergency, maternity, pediatric and other treatment for those who need it.
WHO stands ready to send more than 110 tons of emergency medical supplies from Port Sudan to more than 13 destinations across the country.
But we cannot stress enough that we need expedited clearance and assurance of safe passage to deliver these critical supplies to health facilities that are urgently in need of life-saving operations.
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
Turning to the situation in Gaza and Israel, you will have seen the Secretary-General’s statement that we issued last night. Of course, the Secretary-General continues to follow with grave concern the dangerous escalation in Gaza and Israel. His Special Coordinator Tor Wennesland remains on the ground and is actively engaged with all concerned in an attempt to restore calm. The Secretary-General calls on all sides to avoid further escalation and to end the hostilities.
It’s clear that the continued escalation of hostilities in Gaza only deepens civilian suffering and increases the risk the number of casualties both in Gaza and Israel.
The ongoing hostilities are also obviously having a negative impact on an already difficult humanitarian situation in Gaza. The Israeli crossings with Gaza are now closed for the third consecutive day. Fuel reserves are being quickly depleted, forcing the Gaza Power Plant, which relies on regular imports of fuel from Israel, to reduce its operations. Other vital items also need to enter Gaza immediately, including food and medical supplies.
For its part, UNRWA has continued with essential services relating to food distribution, health services, sanitation services, solid waste transfer to landfills and water wells. However, all UNRWA schools remain closed.
In addition, our colleagues at the World Food Programme said today that by next month 200,000 people – 60 percent of the people the agency helps in Palestine – will no longer be receiving food assistance due to a severe funding shortage. This month, the funding crunch forced WFP to reduce the value of its cash assistance by around 20 per cent in Palestine.
Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=11%20May%202023
United Nations YouTube Channel
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