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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ,
DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
MONDAY, 31 JULY 2023

PAKISTAN
The Secretary-General strongly condemns the suicide bombing at a political rally in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which claimed the lives of at least 54 people and injured approximately 83 people.
The Secretary-General extends his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and wishes a prompt recovery to those injured. He calls on the Pakistani authorities to bring those responsible to justice.
The Secretary-General denounces all instances of terrorism and deliberate targeted attacks against civilians and stands in solidarity with the government and the people of Pakistan in combating this scourge.

NIGER
The head of the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel or UNOWAS - Léonardo Santos Simão - was in Abuja yesterday to take part in the summit on the situation in Niger organized by the Economic Community of West African States, better known as ECOWAS.
He reiterated the condemnation of the seizure of power by force and the undermining of democratic governance, peace and stability in Niger.
Mr. Simão also said that the UN country team in Niger is continuing its assistance to vulnerable people in the country, and he reiterated the commitment of his office and the entire UN system to work closely with ECOWAS, in the spirit of complementarity, and in support of the people of Niger.
He will continue his consultations with all partners with a view to restoring constitutional order and consolidating democratic gains in Niger.

SUDAN
The United Nations continues to deliver assistance, despite the ongoing conflict.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that more than 40 trucks carrying some 1,600 tons of food reached three states – Kassala, Gedaref and White Nile – between July 22^nd and 27^th.
OCHA also coordinated the movement of five additional trucks to West Kordofan, where they delivered roughly 300 tons of relief supplies.
Since 22 May, more than 780 trucks carrying about 35,000 tons of humanitarian assistance have reached locations across Sudan.
In the Darfur region of Sudan, the World Food Programme has provided food and nutrition assistance to more than 450,000 people in Central, East, North and South Darfur states since the hostilities began.
Today, together with the Sudanese Red Crescent, WFP supplies are reaching people internally displaced by conflict in the Al Firdous locality in East Darfur.

SYRIA
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that, earlier today, 10 trucks carrying humanitarian assistance from the International Organization for Migration crossed into the north-west from Türkiye through Bab al-Salam crossing. The trucks were carrying shelter items.
Additional truck movements and UN staff missions are planned through Bab al-Salam and al-Ra’ee crossings in the coming days as the UN works with humanitarian partners to continue providing humanitarian supplies and services to people in the north-west.

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL/TRIP ANNOUNCEMENT
The Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed is heading to Brazil today, on a visit at the invitation of the Brazilian Government.
In Brasilia, Ms. Mohammed will engage with senior government officials, UN colleagues and civil society on Brazil’s key role as the world accelerates action to achieve the 2030 Agenda and climate commitments, in the lead up to the Sustainable Development Goals summit in September.
During her trip, Ms. Mohammed is expected to visit the Amazon region, in the State of Para, including meetings in Belém in the context of the forthcoming Amazon Dialogues.
The Deputy Secretary-General will return to New York on Saturday, 5 August.

SECURITY COUNCIL
This morning, the Security Council held a briefing on threats to international peace and security. Briefing Council members, Raffi Gregorian, the Director and Deputy to the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism, noted that the General Assembly does not provide the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism the mandate to investigate or ascertain the conduct of States and other actors, nor to determine what constitutes an act of terrorism, whether by a State, a group or an individual.
He added that both the Security Council and the General Assembly, on several occasions, have said that compliance with international law, including international human rights law and international humanitarian law, is the bedrock of the fight against terrorism.

CLIMATE
Media accreditation for the UN Climate Change Conference COP28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is now open. The COP will take place from 30 November to 12 December 2023 at Expo City Dubai.

NOON BRIEFING GUEST
The noon briefing guest today is Denise Brown, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine. She will give an update on the humanitarian situation in the country.

BRIEFING TOMORROW
Tomorrow, at 2 p.m., there will be a briefing by Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Representative of the United States of America and President of the Security Council for the month of August.
She will brief on the Council’s programme for the month.