• by Martin Griffith (geneva, switzerland)
• Thursday, November 16, 2023
• Inter Press Service

A really particular factor – and the rationale why I wished to discuss it is because, after all – there have been allegations from sure quarters that we aren’t prepared, that we don’t have the vans, that we don’t have the gas, why shouldn’t we use protected zones, and so forth. So, that is supposed to display and to give some particulars, and I do know that you just’ve seen a few of this already, of the method that we plan to do.

Now, primary, we plan to comply with the usual expertise and procedures that humanitarian businesses have had everywhere in the world. This shouldn’t be new in itself. The extent of the struggling is unbearable, however the method of humanitarian businesses, relying on the necessities of worldwide humanitarian support and assist, goes to be the identical in Gaza because it is perhaps in Ukraine, in Sudan or elsewhere.

And I’ll describe what that may appear to be. And I’m saying this clearly within the context of the rising movement of inhabitants down from the north to the south of Gaza. Clearly that’s the angle. That’s the context during which I’m talking.

So, I’ll undergo these 10 factors:

First of all, to facilitate the businesses’ efforts to herald a steady movement of support convoys safely. The key phrase right here is “continuous.” Aid wants to be dependable, on the day, on the following day, on the following week. People want to know that there will probably be support coming tomorrow or the following day. They want to know that they’ve time to devour these provides as a result of extra is coming on the subsequent second.

Number two: Crucial, essential for the logistics – is to open extra crossing factors for support and industrial vans to enter into Gaza, together with Kerem Shalom from Israel. Now, a lot has been product of the significance of the necessity to present alternatives for industrial support to get into Gaza. By the best way, as soon as once more, that’s a quite common function of the elements of an pressing humanitarian program. Sudan was precisely the identical, we had very comparable factors made within the early days, you bear in mind the evacuation from Khartoum.

But it’s significantly necessary in Gaza due to the full dependency of a inhabitants which can not transfer outdoors the territory. So extra crossing factors, together with that Kerem Shalom, which used to carry greater than 60 per cent of the truckloads going by means of earlier than this battle, this current battle began. So please, Kerem Shalom. Please Israel, give us that for our crossing level.

Next, enable the United Nations and different humanitarian organizations entry to gas. Now, you’ve heard so much concerning the want for gas. I imagine Philippe Lazzarini has additionally issued a (assertion) this afternoon, saying that they obtained about 24,000 litres of gas. I simply need to say a few phrases on gas, in all probability to repeat what you’ve heard elsewhere.

Number three, gas is the driving force of so many elements of the humanitarian response. It’s the driving force of desalination. It’s the driving force of electrical energy. It’s the driving force of efficient hospitals. It’s the driving force of vans that can go from Rafah on entry to the distribution factors. The 24,000 litres – most welcome, no query about it – shouldn’t be sufficient to present the gas that we’d like every day to get to the entire of Gaza.

My understanding is that to cowl the entire of the Gazan territory and subsequently the entire individuals in want, we would wish about 200,000 liters a day. Now, this has been taking place for years. UNRWA has in depth expertise on this. UNOPS has in depth expertise additionally in serving to make the distribution of gas. And we perceive the necessity for monitoring.

But the concept we now have been pursuing every day and nightly in negotiation with Israel, Egypt, and with the help of the United States, is to replenish the shares within the UNRWA depot close to Rafah after which take it from there to be utilized by vans going round Gaza to the place individuals are ready to be.

Number 4: This is bedrock, after all: allow humanitarian organizations to ship support all through Gaza with out obstacle or interference. I haven’t witnessed in my many, many many years of coping with struggle, an event on which a lot consideration is being paid to the necessities of worldwide humanitarian legislation, in any other case known as the foundations of struggle.

One of them is to enable individuals to go the place they resolve to go, they’ll resolve the place they’re protected. They will resolve when they need to transfer and never transfer. And the identical goes for us – that we’d like security to ship support to wherever these individuals go.

Number 5: Allow us – humanitarian organizations – to broaden the variety of protected shelters for displaced individuals in faculties and different public services throughout Gaza. This is a fully central a part of UNRWA’s preparedness – UNRWA, which thank God for UNRWA, is in existence and remains to be the buffer between survival and tragedy for thus many individuals in Gaza. And it wants the chance to broaden the variety of protected shelters throughout the south.

For instance, it may take an settlement with the Palestinian Authority to use PA faculties to broaden shelters for these fleeing south. We’ve all heard about the best way during which UNRWA establishments, faculties, hospitals and elsewhere are flooded with IDPs .

We want to broaden the numbers of such establishments within the south. I’m not saying that each one the individuals will go all to these shelters the place we increase the UN flag to say, this can be a UN-protected establishment. But it offers us at the least a little bit bit extra likelihood to assist individuals be protected.

Number six: Improve a humanitarian notification mechanism. I anticipate it’s acquainted to most of you. But in all nations in battle – whether or not it’s Syria, Ukraine, Yemen, the place I spent numerous time, and certainly Gaza – for a lot of, a few years, the humanitarian neighborhood has used a notification system, a humanitarian notification system, to deconflict particular locations that are protected, both protected beneath humanitarian legislation – like hospitals, faculties and different locations – or to inform the events that is the place we will probably be shifting, from A to B to C, to ship support.

We notify the events, whether or not it’s in Ukraine, or Gaza or elsewhere, of what our plans are, in order that they’re on discover not to assault us, to enable what humanitarian legislation once more requires: the protected passage of humanitarian help.

Number seven: Part of the method, within the south, is to arrange, set up and work from reduction distribution hubs. There will probably be individuals who take shelter, as I’ve already referred to, who can obtain support straight the place they’re. There will probably be different people who find themselves in homes or shifting round or different locations to reside in.

And we’ll want distribution hubs to which they’ll come or from which we are able to go to ship meals, medical provides and different gadgets to them on a steady foundation. I spent a while within the final 12 months in Ukraine, for instance, the place these distribution hubs, particularly by means of the winter, have been key, the important thing a part of a humanitarian operation. It ought to be no totally different in Gaza.

Number eight: Fundamental – enable civilians to transfer to safer areas and to voluntarily return to their residences within the north, in the event that they so want. The freedom of motion of civilians in struggle is a elementary privilege and requirement of worldwide humanitarian legislation. You could have seen varied statements of my colleagues within the Inter-Agency Standing Committee concerning the thought of protected zones, opposing the concept of protected zones.

The United Nations has a historical past on protected zones. We bear in mind Srebrenica, we bear in mind what occurred then, and we all know the necessities – legally and operationally – to make a zone protected, together with, by the best way, for instance, that each one events ought to agree to this being a protected zone. So, we aren’t smitten by such protected zones. But we additionally insist that, in any case, it’s not for us or others to resolve the place individuals ought to go.

They ought to resolve, if they need to resolve to go to the place is designated and is proposed as a protected zone, let or not it’s. Let or not it’s their determination, and we’ll, after all, present help to them there. But we is not going to be a part of an institution of a protected zone which doesn’t meet the necessities that we now have discovered, by means of our personal bitter expertise, so demanding.

Number 9: Funding, boring as it’s, $1.2 billion of an emergency enchantment for the operation. I believe we’re into million to date. I used to be speaking yesterday to Lynn Hastings, the Humanitarian Coordinator, primarily based in Jerusalem, for the Occupied Territory, and I used to be asking her the query you write, which is: What do you really want now? She stated gas, cash – cash to fund the operation. We have by the way round 460 vans in Al Arish, in Rafah space, prepared to go in.

And I’m very grateful to hear right this moment by means of the Secretary-General himself, that the Israeli Government has determined, and we thank them, not to put a cap on the variety of vans getting into. We have the vans, we’d like the gas, and we’d like the cash to fund the supply. And then we are able to do the job that we’re there to do.

Finally: Implement a humanitarian ceasefire. There has been an enormous, large dialogue, significantly within the Security Council and elsewhere, on the distinction between truces and hudnas and pauses and ceasefire. I’ve spent 50 years coping with totally different phrases to describe one thing which is actually very, quite simple: Silence the weapons. Stop the preventing to enable the individuals to transfer safely.

Do it for so long as doable. Allow them to transfer safely on their very own, not hindered and never pushed. And silence these weapons lengthy sufficient to give the individuals of Gaza a breather from the horrible, horrible issues which have been placed on them these previous few weeks. This may be very, essential.

So, these factors collectively represent for us an method which we’re making use of – it’s been going for a while – which we’re making use of for Gaza and we might apply elsewhere, if for instance, the Occupied Territory turned severely troubled.

It’s not new. It gained’t be good. It will probably be messy. It requires from the events an adherence to humanitarian legislation and humanity. It requires from the worldwide neighborhood funding urgently and rapidly and requires from us and my colleagues the braveness, which I believe they’ve proven amply in these previous few weeks, to go the place others wouldn’t, however the place the Gazans are and the place they want their presence.

This article relies on a press briefing in Geneva on 15 November 2023.

Martin Griffiths is UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator

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