Security Council, Secretary-General/Trip & other…

This morning, Virginia Gamba, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, presented the annual report on the same topic to members of the Security Council. She told them that over 27,000 grave violations against close to 19,000 children were verified by the United Nations last year.  Killing and maiming and recruitment and use of children were the violations verified at the highest levels, she said, adding that all violations increased in 2022. Two new situations – Haiti and Niger – were added to the report, given the worrying and unfolding security situations on the ground.  

The Secretary-General is back in New York. While in Trinidad and Tobago, you will have seen that he took part virtually in the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization yesterday.

The Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, has been in India for the past two days, where she met with senior Government officials as they engaged in discussions to advance the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, with a focus on climate action and financing for development.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warns about civilians’ casualties and damaged homes following recent attacks in Ukraine.  

On the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that they are now in Jenin, together with partners, to assess humanitarian needs in the refugee camp following the end of the Israeli operation there.

Top UN officials today voiced shock and condemnation at increasing reports of gender-based violence in SUDAN since fighting erupted there more than 11 weeks ago.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said today that on 25 June, 28 refugees hosted by Sudan were killed in Khartoum when the area in which they lived was engulfed by the fighting, with additional refugees injured in the incident.  

The Somalia Humanitarian Fund has put $25 million toward helping communities reeling from the impacts of drought in Somalia.  Meanwhile, $18 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund has been allocated for famine prevention efforts in the country.

In a statement issued yesterday, the Secretary-General saluted President Macky Sall's decision not to run in the forthcoming Senegalese Presidential elections as a strong demonstration of statesmanship and leadership and an important example for his country and the world.  

In a statement issued today, UN humanitarian leaders called for the renewal of authorization for cross-border aid deliveries to northwest Syria, describing it as a lifeline for millions of people, most of them women and children.  

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said today that halfway through 2023 more than 77,000 migrants have crossed the Gulf of Aden to Yemen, surpassing last year’s figures and fast approaching pre-pandemic levels.  

Today, the Secretary-General is appointing Sonja Leighton-Kone of the United States of America as Deputy Executive Director of the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS).

The UN team in Costa Rica, led by Resident Coordinator Allegra Baiocchi, has today published a new study showing that hate speech and discrimination messages increased by 50 per cent in the country over the last year and 250 per cent in the last two years.

The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) released today its World Investment Report, showing a widening annual investment deficit that developing countries face as they work to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced today that twelve countries across different regions in Africa are set to receive 18 million doses of the first-ever malaria vaccine over the next two years.  

At 1 p.m., there will be a hybrid briefing here by William O’Neill, who is the UN Expert about human rights in Haiti, and he will brief on his recent visit to the country.