The United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process said authorities must cooperate to resolve the electricity crisis in Gaza, noting that he is closely following the tense situation unfolding mid-winter after 2 million Palestinians can access only two hours of electric power daily.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
This morning the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations briefed the Security Council on Darfur. Although there been a decrease in armed conflict in Darfur, he said, civilians had remained exposed to significant sources of insecurity such as intercommunal conflict and criminality.
The Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations briefed the Security Council today saying that the 31 December 2016 agreement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo had contributed to defusing tensions there. However, he noted that major efforts would need to be made to ensure all parties follow and implement the agreement.
In his first time speaking before the Security Council as Secretary-General, António Guterres spoke about the importance of conflict prevention, saying that it had proved difficult to persuade decision-makers at national and international levels that prevention must be their priority.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) launched today two international emergency appeals totalling $813 million to meet the critical humanitarian needs of refugees in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and those affected by the conflict in Syria.
Humanitarian colleagues in Iraq report that more than 133,000 people have been displaced due to ongoing operations in Mosul, which began in October. Some 87 per cent have sought shelter in camps for internally displaced people. To date, available camp space is still keeping pace with the rate of displacement.
Jan Egeland, the Special Adviser on the Humanitarian Task Force for Syria, stresses the need for access in Wadi Barada, which supplies most of the water to Damascus, Syria, where some 5.5 million people have no water. The United Nations has received reports of the displacement of at least 7,000 people from the Wadi Barada area north of the city due to recent fighting.
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Haiti, Sandra Honoré, and the other members of the “Core Group” today congratulated President-elect Jovenel Moïse on his election and encouraged all actors to respect the final results.
On 1 January, António Guterres took over as the ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations. After taking office he issued a statement appealing for peace and asking that 2017 be a year for peace.
John Ging, Operations Director of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs told the Security Council that the evacuation operation from eastern Aleppo, Syria, ended late last night, with more than 35,000 people evacuated, including 20,000 people since resolution 2328 (2016) was passed earlier this week.