Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

**Guests

Good afternoon and happy Friday, because Fridays can only be happy, right? These days, you never know.

In a very short while, I will be joined by Edem Wosornu, who is the Director of the Crisis Response Division in OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs).

She will be here to brief us on the humanitarian situation in Haiti, which we don't hear about all that much and we are trying to keep in the news, so we'll depend on you.

On Monday, I will be joined virtually by Denise Brown, who, as you know, is the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan. The briefing is pegged to the sad three-year mark of the conflict in Sudan.

**Sudan

And let me just start with an update for you on Sudan, to stay in the same area. The Secretary-General's Personal Envoy for Sudan, Pekka Haavisto, is concluding today his visit to Nairobi, in Kenya, where he held productive engagements with Sudanese armed groups and civilian political actors, as well as with civil society representatives, members of the diplomatic community and Kenyan authorities. In his meetings, Mr. Haavisto stressed the urgent need to pursue practical measures to deescalate the conflict and ensure the protection of civilians.

Mr. Haavisto reiterated that the conflict cannot be resolved through military means and highlighted the importance of achieving swift, tangible progress towards peace, given the devastating impact the ongoing violence is continuing to have on Sudan and its people.

The Personal Envoy echoed statements by the Secretary-General and the Security Council, reaffirming the need to safeguard the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Sudan, rejecting the establishment of any parallel authorities and underscoring the commitment of the United Nations to engaging with all relevant stakeholders to advance peace.

Mr. Haavisto will next travel to Berlin ahead of the ministerial-level meeting of the International Sudan Conference, which is scheduled next week, on 15 April.

**Iran

Turning to the ongoing situation in the Middle East, I can tell you that the Secretary-General welcomes the US-Iran talks that are mediated by Pakistan, scheduled to start in Islamabad over the weekend.

He calls on the parties to seize this diplomatic opportunity to engage in good faith towards a lasting and comprehensive agreement, with a view to de-escalation and the prevention of a return to hostilities. His Personal Envoy, Jean Arnault, continues to be in the region to support diplomatic efforts.

The Secretary-General reiterates that there is no viable alternative to the peaceful settlement of international disputes, in full accordance with international law, including the UN Charter.

**Lebanon

Turning to Lebanon, where our humanitarian colleagues tell us that the situation there continues to deteriorate and essential services for people in need are under extreme strain.

Lebanon's Ministry of Health reported that the strikes on Wednesday across the country killed more than 300 people and injured over 1,100 others. This brings the total number of people killed since 2 March to nearly 1,900, with more than 6,000 people injured. This is according to numbers given to us by the Lebanese Government.

Our humanitarian colleagues continue to be seriously concerned over attacks on health and emergency services. Today, a strike on an ambulance killed two first responders in the province of Tyre.

As you can imagine, the health system in the country is critically over-stretched. WHO (World Health Organization) warns that some hospitals may run out of trauma supplies within days due to the surge in casualties.

Roughly three weeks' worth of supplies were depleted in just one day, and that was on Wednesday. Disruptions to supply chains and rising demand are also threatening the availability of medicine for chronic diseases, such as insulin.

WHO and its partners continue to support the Ministry of Public Health, reaching more than 57,000 patients with medication to treat acute diseases and providing over 37,000 subsidized primary healthcare consultations, and that is just since 2 March.

For its part, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said today that access to impacted people is increasingly constrained. Over 680 shelters hosting about 140,000 displaced people are severely overcrowded, and nearly half of Lebanon's public schools are now functioning as shelters.

So far, UNHCR and its partners have assisted more than 151,000 people displaced in collective shelters and 31,000 in hard-to-reach areas. They are also supporting over 250,000 people who crossed into Syria, and out of those 250,000 people, there are 39,000 Lebanese who have sought refuge into Syria.

Needs in Lebanon exceed the available capacity.

As the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate, we call for an immediate de-escalation and halt to hostilities. All parties, as you well know, must protect civilians and fully respect international humanitarian law. Health workers, ambulances, and medical facilities; civilian infrastructure must be protected at all times. We need funding and other support so we can deliver aid safely and without impediments.

**Occupied Palestinian Territory

Turning to Gaza, where we just passed the six-month mark of the ceasefire, our colleagues at OCHA say that humanitarian organizations continue to do their best to deliver in the face of many hurdles.

Our partners leading on food security tell us that, in the first week of April, they distributed two food parcels of high-energy biscuits and one bag of flour per family to almost a quarter of a million people. These distributions covered about 75 per cent of the minimum caloric needs of people. This is up from 50 per cent in the previous months. These deliveries were complemented by cash support, allowing families to buy additional food.

Our education partners continue to help children learn through temporary sites. Last week, they installed five new learning centres in the Khan Younis and North Gaza governorates, while repairing another 17 classrooms.

Overall, more than 580 temporary learning spaces are now operating across the Gaza Strip, and that is helping nearly 360,000 children to get some form of education. Last month, most of those girls and boys received around 1.2 million nutritionally enhanced snacks.

Turning to the West Bank, where our humanitarian colleagues say Israeli forces have extended a military order by two months, prolonging the displacement of Palestinians from three refugee camps in Jenin and Tulkarm governorates. UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) estimates that this impacts more than 33,000 people who have been displaced since January of last year.

OCHA calls for the lifting of these and other restrictions, which cause and prolong displacement and hamper Palestinians from accessing healthcare, education and other basic services.

**Afghanistan

And a quick humanitarian update from Afghanistan, where we are told that hostilities and harsh weather are deepening the country's humanitarian crisis.

Recent rains and subsequent flooding have resulted in casualties. Thousands of people's homes have been severely damaged or destroyed, as well as critical infrastructure and large swathes of agricultural land across the country.

Nearly 100 people have been reported killed so far, with over 180 others injured and some still missing. Nangahar Province, which is in the eastern part of the country, has sustained the most impact. You will recall that the province was hit by a devastating earthquake last September, which killed and injured thousands of people and caused extensive damage.

Meanwhile, OCHA says that on Sunday, a 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck the Hindu Kush region, resulting in reports of dozens of deaths and multiple injuries, in addition to damage to homes in Kabul and other places.

We and our humanitarian partners have delivered assistance to more than 8,000 people so far, including food, cash, health services, emergency shelter and other critical support. We're carrying out additional assessments to ensure the needs of the most vulnerable are met.

**UN-Women

A quick note from UN-Women on the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. In a press release today, they say that hundreds of women and girls have been killed across the Middle East since the 28 February attack on Iran. That includes 168 girls who were reportedly killed in a strike on their primary school in Minab, in Iran.

Since then, UN-Women has received reports of 204 women being killed in Iran and 102 women being killed in Lebanon even prior to the 8 April bombardment there. Women and girls have also been reportedly killed in Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and the UAE [United Arab Emirates].

More information online.

**Financial Contribution

Lastly, we are happy to have reached the century mark, today, with our 100^th fully paid-up Member State. That was a cricket reference for my friend Iftikhar.

This landlocked country has the highest number of elephants per capita, with roughly one elephant for every 20 people, if you take the elephant population and the human population. It's a landlocked country. [response: "Botswana?"]

Botswana, Sinan for the win.

We thank our friends in Gaborone, where there are about 130,000 elephants, for their full payment to the Regular Budget.

Botswana's payment brings the number of fully paid-up Member States to 100.

**Questions and Answers

Spokesman: On that note, don't ask me the difference between Asian and African elephants, but I will go to Amelie. […]

Question: Thanks, Steph. About Special Envoy Haavisto, what's the next step? I mean, a few months ago, his predecessor was talking about organizing some technical talks with the two parties in Geneva. What's going on with that? I mean, is there any plan to bring the two parties together?

Spokesman: I think it's a little early right now to lift the curtain. Mr. Haavisto, I think, has really hit the ground running. He was in Khartoum, where he met with the President. As you know, he met Mr. [Mohammed Daglan] Hemedti in Nairobi, the head of the RSF (Rapid Support Forces), and met a number of other leaders of armed factions. I think the Berlin conference, which is happening on 15 April, is an important marker. And I think as soon as he's able to kind of update us more publicly, he will. Edie?

Question: Thanks, Steph. And apologies, if you already said this. Is Jean Arnault planning to go to Islamabad?

Spokesman: He is currently still in Tehran. He'll be staying in the region for next few days. I don't think he will be in, yeah. […] We'll update you on his travel. I don't expect him to be in Islamabad over the weekend.

Question: Is anybody going to be in Islamabad representing the United Nations?

Spokesman: Not specifically for these talks, but we will be kept appraised.

Question: And on Lebanon, is there an amount of money that the UN is still seeking for?

Spokesman: There is. I don't have it on top of my head, but we will get it for you. [He later said the current appeal is for $308 million.] Gabriel?

Question: Thank you, Steph. I have a question about the Sumud Flotilla that is expected to set sail towards Gaza as early as this weekend. It's being billed as the largest coordinated maritime civilian-led effort to get aid into Gaza. People from more than 70 different countries are represented. What is the Secretary-General's message to particularly Israel, which we've seen in the past use some very harsh and could be interpreted as illegal response in international waters?

Spokesman: We want to make sure that whatever is planned is done safely and no one is put in harm's way. For us, the best and most efficient way to deliver humanitarian aid would be for the Israeli authorities to increase the number of crossings. Right now, it's Karim Shalom/Karem Abu Salem. That is the only crossing available to UN, to NGOs (non-governmental organizations), to commercial traffic. There are more gates. We need them to be opened. Okay. Let's go to Abu Sufian, and then we'll go to our guest.

Question: Thank you, Steph. Does the United Nations welcome the decision of formalizing into law the ban on the activities of Awami League, which was initially imposed by the previous interim government led by Professor Muhammad Yunus in response to the recent student uprising and alleged mass killing during its period of undemocratic rule in Bangladesh?

Spokesman: Sorry. I'm not aware of this development, I don't want to pronounce myself on it. Okay, thank you. I don't see any other questions online. I will get our guests.