YouSaid · the spoken record

Griffiths

lines on the record: 722
first: 2018-04-17
most recent: 2023-10-18
sittings or episodes: 57
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“I am sorry to say that national and local authorities increasingly seek to play a role in the selection of beneficiaries and in channelling assistance to people on their own priority lists, while citing an almost universal level of need, exactly contrary to the promises made to my colleagues and me last September, as you, Mr. President, may remember. We are also seeing more demands by the Taliban for data and information on budget and staffing contracts. That is a long-standing issue that has plagued our relationship with the Taliban for decades. Non-governmental organizations in particular face continued difficulties as they try to hire Afghan women in certain functions. There are more instances of interference today than in previous months, most of which are resolved through engagement with the relevant de facto authorities.”
2022-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9075 (2022) · source
“Despite efforts to create a temporary solution to the failure of the banking system through a so-called humanitarian exchange facility, we have seen limited progress, owing to resistance, I should point out, by the de facto authorities. That issue is not going to fix itself. Under the leadership of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, the underlying causes of the breakdown in the formal banking system will have to be addressed, and I know the Mission is doing all it can to do so. In the interim, we need that humanitarian exchange facility to allow for transfers that we see are still challenged. The second impediment we face relates to engagement between humanitarian organizations and the Taliban de facto authorities.”
2022-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9075 (2022) · source
“Around half of the organizations that responded to the latest monitoring survey of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported difficulties in transferring funds into Afghanistan, so while that does remain a problem, the number of respondent organizations that said the same in October last year was 87 per cent. The direction is therefore positive, but the figures remain alarming. While the situation has improved, challenges persist. Around 80 per cent of organizations are facing delays in transferring funds, with two thirds reporting that their international banks continue to deny transfers, which is exactly what the exception was designed to avoid. More than 60 per cent of organizations cite a lack of available cash in-country as a programmatic impediment.”
2022-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9075 (2022) · source
“Despite the difficult circumstances, agencies and partners try to ensure during distributions that community representatives and department officials are also present to monitor delivery. Of course, as elsewhere, United Nations operations also involve post- distribution monitoring. But while we are reaching record numbers of people, as Mr. Alakbarov reminded us, we still have a large hill to climb. In that regard, I would like to mention three areas where I believe there are impediments. First, the formal banking system continues to block transfers due to excessive de-risking, which affects payment channels and causes breakdowns in supply chains.”
2022-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9075 (2022) · source
“Alakbarov himself, and a task force composed of organizations working in the country has already been set up. Most importantly, humanitarian organizations have doubled up on their own systems to minimize the risk of funds and economic resources being misappropriated or diverted. Those measures include spot checks, data reconciliation, photo verification, project completion certificates and complaint mechanisms, procedures that have been culled from experiences around the world but are particularly relevant, important and essential in Afghanistan today. Prior to transactions, agencies ensure that partners and suppliers are first checked against the Security Council consolidated list.”
2022-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9075 (2022) · source
“The scale-up in the humanitarian response, as we have heard, has so far reached 20 million people across all of the country’s 401 districts, although clearly with varying impact depending on the district. That operation spans all sectors, with food assistance being the largest, but also including shelter, health, nutrition and more. A key component of the Council’s humanitarian exception was enabling the transfer and payment of funds and economic resources necessary for humanitarian programming to public entities such as line ministries, health facilities and the State-owned electrical company. I can assure the Council that the humanitarian groups delivering assistance in Afghanistan take the monitoring of programming and financial transfers very seriously. A formal risk mitigation unit is being established under the leadership of Mr.”
2022-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9075 (2022) · source
“But we cannot afford to be complacent. Today 19 million people, or nearly half of the population, are food insecure, including 6.6 million — a staggering number — at emergency levels. That is the highest number in any country in the world at risk of famine-like conditions. I am speaking here partly in the context of the humanitarian exception approved by the Council through its adoption of resolution 2615 (2021) in December. Its swift implementation by Member States has been critical to ensuring that humanitarian partners continue to be able to receive funds and do their work. Currently, there are more than 190 partners in Afghanistan delivering essential aid to millions of people every day.”
2022-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9075 (2022) · source
“Most rural households, as we have said on other occasions, will use up their food stocks dangerously early this lean season. The economy — again as we heard from Mr. Alakbarov — continues to be the primary driver of humanitarian need across Afghanistan. There are now 25 million people living in poverty, which is more than double the number in 2011. Poverty is the most common reason people are leaving their homes in Afghanistan, while a lack of money is the main barrier to accessing basic services such as health care and electricity. Today, the average household spends almost three quarters of its income on food alone. Scaling up the humanitarian response has allowed us to avoid a potential famine, and Mr. Alakbarov provided figures on the people who have been reached in the early months of this year, throughout the winter.”
2022-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9075 (2022) · source
“Alakbarov, who lives there — to engage with the Taliban, who are the de facto authorities, and to see somewhat first- hand what Afghans must contend with every day. We shall no doubt hear more on that from our civil-society briefers. During my most recent visit, in March, I was reminded of how desperate the situation remains. I had the terrible experience, like many others, of visiting a hospital in Kabul — not even beyond the city — and seeing malnourished babies there, a sight I will not easily forget, despite a lifetime of those experiences. It was truly shocking. As Mr. Alakbarov said, Afghanistan’s worst drought in almost 30 years has affected three quarters of its provinces, in addition to everything else the country is enduring, meaning that crop production is expected to be below average this harvest.”
2022-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9075 (2022) · source
“Mr. Griffiths: Let me join the members of the Council in expressing our condolences to the families of those killed and otherwise affected by the terrible earthquake yesterday. I would like to start by firmly associating myself with Mr. Alakbarov’s remarks throughout his useful and unusually broad statement, in which he very clearly outlined the problems that he and his team and the people of Afghanistan are facing. Tellingly, I think, he ended on the issue of the need to engage with the de facto authorities on behalf of the people of Afghanistan, as increasingly difficult as that is becoming. Hats off to Mr. Alakbarov. As Council members may know, I myself have visited Afghanistan twice — unlike Mr.”
2022-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9075 (2022) · source
“But we need to face reality — there has been some progress. There has been progress in the right direction, and we need to stay that course to see more of it. At the same time, the needs of the people of Syria, who should be our top priority, are increasing, with more of them requiring our assistance and our protection. At the moment there is simply no alternative available to meet the scale and scope of those needs other than a renewal of the resolution, an increase in funding and continued efforts to achieve the national ceasefire to which the Secretary-General referred in his remarks. I hope we can stay that course together.”
2022-06-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9068 (2022) · source
“Simply put, without United Nations cross-border access, hunger will increase; medical cases will go mistreated or untreated; millions will be at risk of losing shelter; and assistance and access to water will decrease. The coronavirus disease is still there. Vaccine distribution plans will be disrupted and our ability to provide the minimum protection to women and girls who are at risk of gender- based violence will become severely limited — and that is a euphemism. The United Nations monitoring mechanism will also stop, lessening transparency and accountability. Let us be honest. In an ideal world, much more progress would have been made on cross-line delivery and we would be further along in terms of implementing more early-recovery programmes. That is true, of course. It is not an issue, and it is not at issue.”
2022-06-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9068 (2022) · source
“There are 4.4 million people living in north-western Syria, more than 90 per cent of whom need humanitarian assistance and many of whom have needed it for many years. That is 20 per cent more than were in need last year. In 2021, the United Nations sent some 800 trucks carrying cross-border aid to north-western Syria, reaching slightly below 2.5 million people every month. We brought in food for 1.8 million people, and so on and so forth. Our figures for 2022 show similar levels of aid going in. Last year, the United Nations spent more than $420 million inside north-west Syria, including $150 million allocated through our Syria Cross-border Humanitarian Fund. I want to thank all the Governments that contributed so generously to that Fund.”
2022-06-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9068 (2022) · source
“Resolution 2585 (2021) underscored Council members’ concerns about the transparency of operations, which the Secretary-General referred to in his remarks here today. That was a focus of the Secretary-General’s report issued in line with the resolution in December 2021 (S/2021/1030). Syria remains one of the most complex humanitarian operations globally, and the report described the robust systems in place to assist us in monitoring and mitigating risks and providing principled assistance to millions of people in need across Syria — not just in the north-west or north-east, but across the country. That brings me to the imperative, as described by the Secretary-General, to retain our ability to deliver assistance across the border from Türkiye for an additional 12 months.”
2022-06-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9068 (2022) · source
“The most recent was just a few days ago, on 12 and 13 June. That has opened cross-line access to north-western Syria during the past 12-month period, for the first time since 2017. That is no small feat. Those deliveries have provided food for more than 43,000 people each time, along with nutrition, hygiene, medical and education supplies. To facilitate those regular convoys, the United Nations developed its inter-agency operational plan, which we submitted here and updated to run through the end of this year. We also agreed on a new distribution modality with the parties. We want to do more. We need to do more. We expect to do more. We are working to expand access, but we need an enabling environment. We need timely approvals from all concerned and security guarantees, especially for safe passage. Of course, we also need funding.”
2022-06-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9068 (2022) · source
“They rehabilitated 106 health-care facilities that service up to 400,000 people. Education partners and agencies restored more than 1,500 classrooms, thereby allowing nearly 80,000 children in northern Aleppo and Idlib governorates to go to school. Since December 2021, humanitarian mine-clearance teams have cleared more than 500,000 square metres of land to enable farming in Darayya, in rural Damascus. Members will find many more examples of such achievements in the Secretary- General’s report (S/2022/492). Turning to cross-line assistance, at this time last year there were no cross-line convoys into north- western Syria. Since the adoption of resolution 2585 (2021), we have carried out five convoys, each including 14 trucks, from Government-controlled areas into Idlib in the north-west.”
2022-06-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9068 (2022) · source
“One of those, which is run by the World Food Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, rehabilitates canals and has enabled farmers, particularly women’s groups, to farm their land. It is really as straightforward as that. One single mother told Ms. Msuya, “I can finally provide for my children; I have a new chance at life”. All Syrians deserve that chance. I believe passionately in the right of everyone, no matter where they live or under whose administration they live, to a future — to be educated, have their livelihoods protected and have access to essential services. We and our partners continue to scale up early recovery in response to immediate and protracted needs. From January to April, health-sector partners trained close to 15,000 health-care workers to make health systems more shock-proof.”
2022-06-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9068 (2022) · source
“Against that frankly dismal backdrop, as the Secretary-General already mentioned, the Council will soon discuss the renewal of resolution 2585 (2021), which was unanimously agreed nearly one year ago. Today I would like to add to the remarks of the Secretary-General about the progress made in those 12 months. Some 26 per cent of our requests for humanitarian aid to Syria this year are aimed at early recovery. So far this year, 2.9 million people have benefited from those efforts. We know that early recovery is part of that resolution. The renewed focus on it and increased donations to it are a strong feature of the past 12 months of assistance in Syria. That trend must continue to be protected and ensured. My deputy, Assistant Secretary-General Msuya, visited early-recovery projects in Syria in May.”
2022-06-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9068 (2022) · source
“For that to happen, all critical infrastructure, including electricity facilities, need to remain functional. They are civilian objects. It is an economic crisis. The United Nations continues to engage with all parties on how to improve the lives of ordinary civilians, including so that their situation is not further worsened by the impact of sanctions. However, as we have said more than once in this Chamber, more than 90 per cent of the people of Syria live below the poverty line. The sad reality is that the situation is getting worse. I would invite us all to imagine how it might seem to the people of Syria that we have the same conversation here, every month, while their situation continues to worsen. I am sure that we will hear more about that from the next briefer.”
2022-06-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9068 (2022) · source
“The number of people in need is the highest now that it has ever been in more than 11 years of war — and the numbers increase each year, not the reverse. It is a hunger crisis. Food insecurity has reached record levels. An unprecedented number of women and children in Syria are now battling high rates of malnutrition. It is a water crisis. With the summer heat, water levels have fallen significantly in the Euphrates River. That means that families do not have sufficient clean water to drink. Children get sick from waterborne diseases. Farmers cannot irrigate their fields. Electricity production drops. That has a direct impact on basic services. I would like to call on all parties to ensure that people have sufficient access to safe water across the north of the country.”
2022-06-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9068 (2022) · source
“As a result, the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service also had to suspend its operations across Syria, with direct implications for the delivery of essential aid and the movement of essential staff. Landmines continue to threaten communities. On 11 June, 10 civilians were killed and 28 wounded when a landmine detonated under a civilian vehicle carrying farmers to work in a village in Dara’a. I therefore take this opportunity to remind all the parties to the conflict that international humanitarian law requires them to respect civilians and civilian objects and take all feasible precautions to avoid and minimize civilian harm. It bears reminding Council members that Syria is indeed a deep humanitarian crisis.”
2022-06-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9068 (2022) · source
“Mr. Griffiths: We have just heard the remarks of the Secretary-General on the humanitarian situation in Syria. I am grateful to him for his presence here. His remarks paint a very grim picture. Hostilities continue on the front lines and in pockets across the country, killing more civilian men, women and children. Murders continue in Al-Hol camp, with 18 murders already reported this year. On 15 June, a car bomb killed the head of office of a humanitarian partner organization in Al-Bab city. That was a deplorable attack that should be investigated and whose perpetrators should be held accountable. Aid workers are not targets. On 10 June, the Damascus airport, which was damaged by an air strike, was shut down and remains closed as of today.”
2022-06-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9068 (2022) · source
“I will be meeting Joyce and other colleagues on Sunday, and I will be hearing a lot more about the issues and priorities that we need to address. We will be all the better briefed when we meet again, and I look forward to doing that at our next meeting.”
2022-05-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9038 (2022) · source
“While we are doing our utmost to expand cross-line access, leaving no stone unturned in that endeavour, let me reiterate, as I have done on every occasion in the past, that cross-line operations cannot under current conditions replace the size or the scope of the massive United Nations cross-border operation. Failure to renew the authorization will disrupt life-saving aid for the people living in the north-west, including more than 1 million children. As we speak, I am delighted to say that my Deputy, Joyce Msuya, whom members have already seen frequently in the Council, is completing a visit to Syria and Jordan to support the humanitarian partners’ response to the crisis there and to identify strategies to meet the challenges that the coming months will bring.”
2022-05-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9038 (2022) · source
“The United Nations is now working on the modalities of a fifth inter-agency cross-line convoy, in line with the operational plan that we had submitted to the Council and discussed before for cross-line convoys to north-west Syria. The plan focuses on the implementation of those inter-agency cross-line convoys to communities in Idlib and Aleppo, and that plan has been extended through December. As we all know, the Security Council authorization for United Nations and partners cross-border assistance into the north-west expires in just over six weeks.”
2022-05-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9038 (2022) · source
“Those children are so active in seeking the opportunities to finish their education; they are our only hope for Syria’s future, because when we see a generation of children not having access to education, which is in one sense one of the worst aspects of conflict, it is the responsibility of all parties to respect that right, to provide every support to allow children to travel safely to where they can take those exams. We continue our efforts to expand cross-line humanitarian access. In the north-east, the United Nations is planning to carry out a cross-line mission in the coming days or week to Ras Al-Ayn to provide medical supplies, including leishmaniosis medication. On 16 May, the fourth cross-line convoy delivered food assistance to north-west Syria to more than 40,000 people.”
2022-05-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9038 (2022) · source
“The Allouk water station continues to work only intermittently, and pumping has been interrupted several times in the past month owing to electricity shortages, resulting, again, in limited water flows. Al-Hasakah city continues to be supplied through water trucking. That is not a sustainable solution. It is the last one that anyone would consider, with its expense and its inevitable lack of reliability, but it is better than not having it. The United Nations and our partners are currently supporting more than 12,000 students to cross between areas of control to take examinations at the end of this month; I remember this also from last year.”
2022-05-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9038 (2022) · source
“That will lead to increasing demand for water. Already, water levels in the Euphrates River are dropping to a critically low point. Nearly 5.5 million people in Syria rely on the Euphrates and its subsidiaries for drinking water. The Tishreen Dam Authority has warned that due to low water levels, the dam is going to be operational only six hours a day, compromising the provision of water and the supply of electricity. The supply of electricity is not a luxury; it is critical to essential services, as I saw very clearly when I was there last year in Aleppo. Without electricity, irrigation pumps cannot function, hospitals and other critical services cannot be supported and residents must purchase drinking water, further eroding their purchasing power. Electricity therefore has an impact on many aspects of emergency needs.”
2022-05-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9038 (2022) · source
“In fact, nearly 10,000 children and their mothers in the north-east are detained in prisons and prison-like camps. So, of course, we need to take action. Children should not be detained based solely on alleged association with armed groups. They should be released into suitable care. They need protection and basic services. They need a family life, and they need a future. Thus we call once again on all Member States involved to take urgent action to fulfil their responsibility to repatriate their citizens through all available routes. People living in Al-Hol and the humanitarian partners serving them desperately need an approach to safety and security that maintains the civilian character of the camp and gives them a horizon and a future beyond the camp. We are fast approaching summer and its scorching heat in most parts of Syria.”
2022-05-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9038 (2022) · source
“Hostilities, including air strikes and shelling in north-western Syria, continue to affect civilians, including women and children. Constant care must be taken to spare them. Insecurity continues in Al-Hol camp. So far in 2022, 13 murders and four attempted murders have been reported in the camp. An incident on 10 May targeted an international non-governmental organization centre. As a result, all activities in phase 5 of our security arrangements are suspended until the safety and security to humanitarian workers can be reassessed and ensured. As I and so many others have said before, the situation in Al-Hol camp is a disgrace for the 56,000 civilians living there, the vast majority of whom are women and children, which makes it much worse.”
2022-05-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9038 (2022) · source
“Indeed, 1.9 million more could slide into hunger due to the impact of rising food prices and the effects of the Ukraine conflict, which I know has been discussed extensively this week in New York. I was also pleased to see the level of consensus at the Brussels Conference on the need to prioritize and focus on early recovery programming, in which immediate investments are imperative to support the delivery of education, water and sanitation, health, electricity and social protection. Only through a sustainable commitment to basic services can we make good on our common commitment to leave no Syrian behind. It is now critical that the generous pledges announced in Brussels be converted into early disbursals of funding.”
2022-05-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9038 (2022) · source
“Despite the considerable funding pledged, the commitments represent less than 50 per cent of the total funding requirement for 2022. We need $10.5 billion for the humanitarian response plan and the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan for countries of the region. This is the largest appeal ever for the Syria crisis, because we have the largest-ever number of people in need. What does underfunding mean, though? It means that we will have to prioritize our response and make difficult choices again this year, as we have discussed so often in the past. The World Food Programme has warned that further cuts to its programme could materialize by July, driven by global food price rises and stagnant funding levels. That would have a devastating impact on people that depend on its assistance.”
2022-05-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9038 (2022) · source
“Mr. Griffiths: Ten days ago, we attended at the sixth Brussels Conference on supporting the future of Syria and the region. That event, organized by the European Union, was an opportunity for the international community to demonstrate its continued commitment to the people of Syria, and they did so. Close to $6.7 billion have been pledged for 2022 and beyond. My first message is one of sincere gratitude to all donors for their contributions to the funds that are so urgently needed, as I hope to outline in these remarks. Brussels was also an opportunity to remind the world of the scope of humanitarian needs inside Syria and in the neighbouring countries. As the Security Council hears from me each month, they are immense and growing year by year. Madam President, you know them all too well.”
2022-05-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9038 (2022) · source
“And we will begin, on that basis, to explore options for reaching others where the need is greatest and where we need and desire to serve the people of Ukraine in their hour of direst need.”
2022-05-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9027 (2022) · source
“What I can finally say about this is that we are finally seeing the fruits of our labour over these past many weeks — of establishing liaison in Moscow and of the visit that preceded the Secretary-General — which were brought about by the long and detailed meetings with the leaderships on both sides this past week. We are beginning to see now that the agreement on local ceasefires — because none of those movements of safe passage would happen without local ceasefires, pauses or windows of silence — are allowing us to make some progress. And we are building relations and experience that we hope we can broaden to more such operations. That is the third element of our humanitarian programme. We will keep pushing for more civilians to be able to leave Mariupol, and indeed Azovstal, if they so choose.”
2022-05-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9027 (2022) · source
“And I believe, although the numbers were not great, that a single life saved is worth every ounce of effort. As of yesterday, as the Secretary-General said, we were able to move more than 320 civilians out of the Mariupol area broadly, again working closely in lockstep with the ICRC and with the cooperation of Ukrainian and Russian authorities. Today we have a third operation, which began this morning, with the intent of evacuating civilians from Mariupol and Azovstal. And as he said, we prefer not to speak about that operation until it is complete.”
2022-05-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9027 (2022) · source
“As Council members know, on 2 May, more than 100 civilians were evacuated from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol, including women, children and older people. About 60 more people joined that convoy on the outskirts of Mariupol and were then able to move to safety. And it was, as the Secretary-General described, a project of the greatest complexity and of constant oversight, and it was an exceptional operation. I am especially grateful to the International Committee of the Red Cross and the leadership of Peter Maurer, as well as to our own highly experienced first responders. But I must also applaud the authorities — essentially the respective militaries of both Ukraine and the Russian Federation — for their close and constructive and essential cooperation in making that operation a reality. It showed us that that can happen.”
2022-05-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9027 (2022) · source
“Thirdly, as we have heard from the Secretary- General, we engage every single day with the parties to the conflict to push for the movement of aid to civilians in areas of active conflict, or to negotiate to help civilians leave for safer areas. So far, we have been able to stage five inter-agency aid convoys to some of the hardest hit areas — operations that required a humanitarian notification system used by both parties to allow for safe passage movements. They have been a lifeline, a small mercy perhaps, to civilians encircled by fighting, bringing in medical supplies, water, food rations, non-food-items and so forth. It is a beginning, but hopefully it is not an end. As the Secretary-General has described, we have seen a glimmer in these past days, thanks to his efforts and those of our colleagues on the front line.”
2022-05-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9027 (2022) · source
“In those areas, injecting cash aid allows civilians to choose what they need and offers a modicum of dignity in these fractious times. It helps to keep markets open and liquidity and supply chains moving. We plan to reach 1.3 million people with cash assistance. Plugging into Ukraine’s social protection system with top-up payments and working with the Government and the Prime Minister to implement his plans for the distribution of cash to his people in order to reach families at risk has needed technical liaison but is now largely achieved. Cash-based aid will now scale up rapidly. Secondly, the other part of our response is working on prepositioning supplies to forward operating bases and increasing our preparedness in areas to where we imagine the war might move next.”
2022-05-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9027 (2022) · source
“That is all across the country, especially where internally displaced people have sought safety or where people have begun returning to severely damaged communities, which is a crucial development. Just a few weeks ago when I was in Irpin, the Mayor described to us, as I think he did to the Secretary-General, how his people are trying to return to Irpin — but to do so, reconstruction will be necessary and will take a year and a half, as he put it. Restoring basic services necessary to survival is key. I was very struck by the fact that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) very quickly after the conversation I had with the Mayor, but not as a result of it, went in to repair the basic services element for the population of Irpin to be able to return.”
2022-05-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9027 (2022) · source
“There are approximately 217 humanitarian partners with whom we work in Ukraine. We have scaled up at record speed. We have more than 1,400 United Nations staff deployed across the country, operating out of eight hubs beyond Kyiv, with staff, warehouses and supplies in 30 locations, principally, of course, across the east of the country, where the war is happening and the needs are greatest. We have reached more than 4.1 million people with some form of assistance, on a daily basis, across all of the country’s 24 oblasts. Our humanitarian response has three main aspects. First, we deliver a great deal of humanitarian assistance and protection services to displaced people. I know that that is not enough; it is inadequate. I know that we will hear more about that.”
2022-05-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9027 (2022) · source
“Often, the most vulnerable are simply stuck. The elderly and people with disabilities have been unable to seek shelter from bombs, get out to gather supplies or receive information on evacuations. The threat of gender-based violence, including conflict-related sexual violence, sexual exploitation and abuse and human trafficking, has risen considerably since the war began, as I am sure we will hear from the other briefers. Allegations of sexual violence against women, girls, men and boys are mounting. As we have all seen, roads are heavily contaminated with explosive ordnance, putting civilians at risk and stopping humanitarian convoys from reaching them. Let me brief members on what the United Nations and its humanitarian partners are doing inside Ukraine to meet those growing needs.”
2022-05-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9027 (2022) · source
“Mr. Griffiths: As members just heard from the Secretary-General, elements of diplomatic progress are coming into view, even as civilian suffering mounts. I will speak briefly today, if I may, about the human toll of the war and then about what we are doing to address humanitarian needs, including a short update on our most recent operations. I know that High Commissioner Bachelet will provide details on the impact on civilians. To recap, the destruction of civilian infrastructure has come to characterize the conflict. Apartment buildings, schools and hospitals in populated areas have been attacked. They must not be. More than 13 million Ukrainians have now been forced to flee their homes, of whom 7.7 million are displaced inside Ukraine. Lives have been uprooted, ripped apart and will never the same again. Many other people could not run.”
2022-05-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9027 (2022) · source
“I would like to assure the Yemeni people that we will stand in solidarity with them as they seek to make this truce a permanent feature.”
2022-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9017 (2022) · source
“Despite past promises to release them, they have not been released. We are also continuing to make efforts to secure the release of five United Nations staff kidnapped by armed men in Abyan in February. I cannot imagine what it is like for them and their families. They have now held by their abductors for more than 60 days, in very grave conditions. We are therefore very concerned about news of recent kidnappings. Nevertheless, I said at the beginning of my statement that I am hopeful, and I have often been accused of being too hopeful. But my optimism is well founded in this case. Mr. Grundberg described vividly the possibilities and hopes that we must now have and the opportunities that we must now seize. It is an extraordinary moment. Like the Special Envoy, I pay tribute to those who decided to make this moment happen.”
2022-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9017 (2022) · source
“We will all become familiar with that. And this year’s humanitarian-needs analysis is based on assessments that collected new data from all 333 districts across Yemen. We said that in the launch. The basis on which humanitarian priorities are made is much more solid than in years gone by. I continue to call on the parties to do everything possible to facilitate access to people in need, in line with obligations under international humanitarian law. At the same time, we must also address challenges to the safety and security of humanitarian workers. In that connection, five months after their arrest — if that is the right word — in Sana’a, two United Nations staff detained by the Houthi authorities remain in custody. We have discussed that here before. This is in contravention of United Nations privileges and immunities.”
2022-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9017 (2022) · source
“It will advise us how to do our business and strengthen the relationship we have with stakeholders. We still continue to face serious access challenges and attempted interference. Last year, half of all people in need lived in areas affected by access constraints, primarily as a result of bureaucratic impediments, more than other factors. Many of those constraints particularly affect female humanitarian workers and certain types of programming that are essential for the well-being and safety of women and girls — always the most vulnerable and at the edge of any such impediments. But there have also been some improvements in that regard. On the west coast, for example, a new agreement with local security forces is helping to facilitate humanitarian movements through the Dhubab checkpoint, which has been a long-standing objective.”
2022-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9017 (2022) · source
“If these programmes do not get the funds they need, they will eventually stop. Allowing the aid operation to collapse would run directly counter to the very positive momentum that we are right to honour and celebrate today. We will therefore do all we can on our side to work with donors in order to ensure that these life-saving programmes survive. There is an inter-agency humanitarian evaluation for Yemen, which has been under way for the past eight months. It is a large undertaking and will be a major help in getting us all to understand the way in which humanitarian assistance is delivered and, to some extent, counter — or perhaps, confirm — some of the comments made today about the diversion of that aid. I am hoping that the report will be out in June, and it will be presented here.”
2022-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9017 (2022) · source
“The pledging event raised $1.3 billion in pledges, and we are glad to note that additional pledges have been announced since then, including $300 million from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. But we are still, obviously, short of money. I want to thank all our donors for stepping up, especially those who have significantly increased their pledges since last year, like some gathered here, the United States and the European Union. Looking ahead, we will need more, and I will continue to ask for donations. Funding remains the biggest challenge to the response. There is a serious risk that core programmes across sectors, including food aid, water, health care and support for displaced people, will keep scaling down. We have heard that risk discussed here in previous briefings.”
2022-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9017 (2022) · source
“Grundberg in looking forward to the new council’s engagement in efforts to find a peaceful, sustainable solution to the conflict. Our thoughts are with Mr. Rashad Al-Alimi in his new leadership role. Further, I urge the parties to seize the many opportunities offered by the current moment. Like others, I call on the Security Council and other Member States to use all avenues to support those efforts. However, despite the hope we have for tomorrow, the fact remains today that millions of people in Yemen still urgently need humanitarian assistance to stay alive. Our partners are doing everything they can to help. This year, aid agencies are seeking just shy of $4.3 billion to assist 17.3 million people — a campaign we saw launched the other day.”
2022-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9017 (2022) · source