Yemen, Syria & other topics - Daily Briefing (17 October 2019)

Noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
Highlights:
Yemen,
Syria,
Deputy Secretary-General’s Travels,
Afghanistan,
Philippines,
Resident Coordinators,
Cuts at Duty Stations,
Haiti,
Postal Union,
Poverty,
Senior Appointment.
YEMEN
Martin Griffiths, the Special Envoy for Yemen, briefed the Security Council by videoconference this morning, and said that there are signs of hope for the people of Yemen, but these are fragile and in need of our diligent care and attention.
He said that, in the south, the situation remains volatile, with a tenuous calm in Aden. But it is worth noting that there has been no large-scale fighting in areas of dispute. This can be taken as testimony to the restraint shown by the those on the ground and their leaderships, he said.
Mr. Griffiths welcomed the initiative by Ansar Allah to suspend all drones and ballistic missile attacks on Saudi Arabia and the reduction of violence that followed the announcement.
Among other measures, the Special Envoy welcomed the release of 290 detainees by Ansar Allah and said he was also grateful to the Government of Yemen for allowing fuel ships into Hudaydah.
Earlier, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock, said that humanitarian workers are reaching more than 12 million people across Yemen every month, and yet, he said, it often feels like the more we achieve, the more complicated the problem becomes.
He said that the situation regarding violence was a little better in October, but he added that all parties must uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians and civilian infrastructures.
He also said humanitarian access remains extremely challenging – particularly in the north. Agencies there must still navigate more than 100 different restrictions imposed by Ansar Allah authorities, Mr. Lowcock said, in addition to frequent harassment and attempts at interference.
In the afternoon, the Security Council will discuss the UN-AU Mission in Darfur, UNAMID.

SYRIA
We continue to be gravely concerned about the situation in northeast Syria, where fighting has placed civilians at risk.
While exact numbers cannot be confirmed, since 9 October, at least 160,000 people are estimated to have been displaced by the violence from areas around Tell Abiad and Ras al-Ain. Most of the displaced are staying with relatives or host communities.
Close to 20,000 people fled IDP camps in the area of hostilities to camps in safer locations further south, while around 5,000 people moved to collective shelters. Approximately 1,000 people fled to Iraq.
Despite the challenging situation, the UN and humanitarian organizations continue to deliver aid and provide basic services to people in need where access allows. United Nations staff remain in northeast Syria. Fighting and ongoing insecurity has seen some NGO partners transfer international staff, who were operating in the northeast, out of the area, and others have had to temporarily suspend operations.
As the Secretary-General stated earlier, any action must ensure that civilians and civilian infrastructure are protected at all times, and that sustained, unimpeded and safe humanitarian access to civilians in need will be guaranteed, including through the cross-border modality, in order to allow the United Nations and its humanitarian partners to continue to carry out its critical work in northern Syria.
Full Highlights: