Ukraine, Israel, Mynmar, Syria & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (1 January 2023)

Noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.' Highlights: UKRAINE Good afternoon and Happy New Year everyone. From Ukraine, our humanitarian colleagues tell us that attacks intensified during the New Year holiday, causing multiple civilian casualties, including among children and journalists, in several parts of the country. Ukrainian authorities reported more than 50 civilian casualties on December 31st alone. In the capital, Kyiv, a hotel, residential homes and several education facilities, including a university, were damaged in the latest attacks. Furthermore, two children were injured due to hostilities in Khersonska oblast on December 31st. One of them — a 13-year-old boy — was evacuated to the children’s hospital in Kherson, which itself was shelled in the early hours of January 1st, according to the Governor. Intensive fighting also continues in eastern Donetska and Luhanska oblasts, with civilian casualties and civilian infrastructure damage reported on both sides of the front line. Despite continued attacks we, along with our humanitarian partners, continue to deliver support to the people in need in the most impacted communities. On December 28th, an inter-agency convoy delivered food, water, blankets, emergency shelter kits and other supplies from the International Organization for Migration, the UN Refugee Agency, UNICEF and the World Food Programme to the front-line towns of Lyman and Sviatohirsk in Donetska oblast. Both communities have been exposed to heavy fighting, which destroyed houses and critical infrastructure and decimated access to basic services. The people who still live in these areas are mostly the elderly and people with limited mobility. ISRAEL We’ve been asked recently about the new Government in Israel and we can say the following: The Secretary-General looks forward to continuing to work closely with the new Government of Israel to advance the work of the United Nations. He reiterates the United Nations’ commitment to supporting Israelis and Palestinians to achieve a sustainable peace and return to the path towards a negotiated two-State solution, based on relevant United Nations resolutions, international law and prior agreements. MYANMAR We’ve been asked for a comment on the sentencing of State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and I can say that the Secretary-General expresses his deep concern over the final verdicts and sentencing of State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and reiterates his calls for her immediate release and that of President Win Myint and of all arbitrarily detained prisoners in Myanmar. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights enshrines the principles of equality before the law, the presumption of innocence, and the right to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, with all the guarantees necessary for a person’s defence. SYRIA In a statement issued yesterday, UN humanitarian leaders urged Security Council members to preserve the cross-border aid lifeline to north-west Syria, warning that without it, millions of people, especially those displaced for years and multiple times, will not have access to food and shelter. UN Security Council resolution 2642, which allows for aid to be delivered to north-west Syria from across the Turkish border, is set to expire next week. In 2022, UN agencies and partners delivered aid from across the Turkish border reaching an average of 2.7 million people every month. LEBANON In response to questions we have been receiving, we can confirm that on 31 December, UNIFIL’s Maritime Task Force assisted the Lebanese Armed Forces-Navy with a search and rescue operation relating to a boat in distress off the northern coast, between Beirut and Tripoli. Despite the challenging conditions, the Maritime Task Force and the LAF-Navy were able to rescue 232 people although sadly, one child and a woman died. COLOMBIA Over the weekend, we issued a statement in which the Secretary-General welcomed the announcement by the President of Colombia of the six-month ceasefire with armed groups, a development that brings renewed hope for comprehensive peace to the Colombian people as the New Year dawns. The Secretary-General said he trusts that adherence to these commitments will reduce violence and the suffering of conflict-affected communities, while helping to build confidence in ongoing dialogues. We also issued statements on the passing of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and the gas tanker explosion in Bokburg, South Africa. Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=03%20January%202023


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