Source: United Nations (Video News)
Noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
-Secretary-General travels
-African Union – United Nations
-Lebanon/UNIFIL
-Secretary-General/UNIFIL
-Lebanon/Humanitarian
-Secretary-General/Gaza
-Occupied Palestinian territory
-Dag Hammarskjöld
-Somalia
-Cameroon
-Democratic Republic of the Congo
-Briefings
SECRETARY-GENERAL TRAVELS
On Sunday, 20 October, the Secretary-General will arrive in Addis Ababa, to take part in the 8th African Union–United Nations annual conference.
The high-level discussions, to be held on Monday, 21 October, will be co-chaired by Moussa Faki Mahamat, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, along with Mr. Guterres. The meeting will focus on progress in the implementation of cooperation frameworks between the two organizations, but also on the joint action and challenges linked to peace, security, development, human rights and the impact of climate change on the African continent.
Discussions this year will also include the implementation of the Pact for the Future, as well as the operationalization of Security Council resolution 2719 (2023), which, as you will recall, establishes the framework for financing of African Union-led peace support operations through United Nations assessed contributions – something the Secretary-General and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission had long advocated for.
The annual conference will conclude with a joint press conference by the Secretary-General and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat. It will be available on UN WebTV shortly after.
Later in the day, the Secretary-General will go to the UN Economic Commission for Africa in Addis Ababa, where he will take part in the re-inauguration ceremony of Africa Hall, which is reopening after extensive renovations to transform it into a modern conference centre. We expect the ceremony to be webcast live on UN WebTV.
While in Addis Ababa, the Secretary-General is also scheduled to hold meetings with the President and Prime Minister of Ethiopia.
AFRICAN UNION – UNITED NATIONS
Speaking of UN-African Union relations, I’d like to note that on 15 October, the Peace and Security Council of the African Union and the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission convened their 7th Annual Consultative Meeting at the ECOSOC Chamber here at UN Headquarters.
The meeting highlighted the collaborative peacebuilding efforts of the AU Peace and Security Council and the Peacebuilding Commission for peacebuilding and sustaining peace in Africa, as well as the comprehensive review and progress of the status of implementation of outcomes of the 6th Informal Meeting in November 2023. They also noted that more work still needs to be done in supporting peacebuilding efforts. We have a note with more details on that meeting.
LEBANON/UNIFIL
Firing continued across parts of Lebanon and northern Israel today, with Israeli strikes in Saida, Nabatieh, Jezzine, Bekaa, and Mount Lebanon as well as the UNIFIL area of operations, while strikes by Hizbullah into northern Israel, including towards Haifa, and the Israeli-occupied Golan, also continued.
Our colleagues in the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) report that the high levels of fire across the Blue Line have persisted, with UNIFIL detecting 966 projectiles over the past 24 hours. The vast majority of these projectiles originated from south of the Blue Line, primarily striking Ayta ash Sha’b in Sector West and Al Wazzani and Mays al-Jabal in Sector East, while 68 projectiles were recorded originating from north of the Blue Line. The Mission also noted 70 air violations by the IDF into Lebanese air space, breaking the previous day’s record for daily violations since October 2023. Furthermore, clashes on the ground between Hizbullah and the Israel Defense Forces within the UNIFIL area of operations continue, with fatalities reported on each side.
Additionally, this morning, peacekeepers reported that one of UNIFIL’s patrols that was resupplying a UN position in Sector East observed an impact less than 50 metres from its location. The patrol returned safely to its location of origin, and no injuries were reported. UNIFIL continues to reiterate the importance of ensuring the safety and security of peacekeepers and reminds all actors of their obligations in that regard.
Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=18%20October%202024