Syria Airstrikes & other Topics - Daily Briefing (12 July 2019)

Noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Daily Noon Breifing:
- Secretary-General’s Travels
- Syria
- Yemen
- Somalia
- Ebola
- Mali
- Libya
- Fires/Floods
- ECOSOC
Highlights:
SECRETARY-GENERAL’S TRAVELS
The Secretary-General traveled to Beira, in the north of Mozambique, today to take stock of the recovery efforts in the areas impacted by the cyclones.
He visited the 25 June school in the Munhava neighbourhood, where he was able to see first-hand the damage caused to classrooms, many of which remain operational but without a roof.  He also saw hurricane-proof classrooms, built with support from UN Habitat, which survived the storms intact. He encouraged the students to continue with their studies and pledged that their classrooms would be rebuilt, and he later tweeted, “It breaks my heart to see children get an education in a classroom with no roof.”
The Secretary-General then visited the Mandruzi resettlement centre, where he met with the residents and participated in a focus group with women leaders. The resettlement area was set up by the Government as a durable solution in the cyclones’ aftermath. It currently houses about 375 families who are each given a plot of land.  The Secretary-General told the residents that he was visiting so that he could gather support from all over the world to ensure that they get the help they need to rebuild their lives. He asked about their needs and said that more permanent help in health, education and energy was on its way.
Prior to returning to Maputo, the Secretary-General spoke to the press at a World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse. He noted the courage and the resilience of the people of Mozambique as they rebuild their lives in the face of so much loss of life and so much destruction. The UN will not leave, he pledged, adding that we need much more support from the international community.
The Secretary-General said that, although Mozambique doesn’t contribute much to climate change, the country is on the front lines in suffering the effects of climate change. Referring to his recent travels, he said that, whether in Tuvalu, Dominica or Mozambique, the people who are the most vulnerable to the changing climate are the least responsible for global warming. He once more urged countries to commit themselves to make sure that we will not have an increase of temperature higher than 1.5°C at the end of the century. For that to happen, there will be a need for a strong political will to take bold action.
The Secretary-General will be back in New York on Monday evening.
SYRIA
In a statement we issued last night, the Secretary-General strongly condemned ongoing airstrikes impacting civilians in northwest Syria, including those on medical facilities and medical workers.
Civilians and civilian infrastructure, including medical facilities, must be protected. Parties to the conflict must respect their obligations under international humanitarian law. Perpetrators of serious violations of international humanitarian law must be held accountable.
The Secretary-General reiterates his urgent call for the September 2018 Memorandum of Understanding on Idlib to be upheld.