Children

Following is the text of UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s video message to the fifth Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour in Durban, South Africa, today:

Protais Mpiranya, the last of the major fugitives indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), is confirmed to have died.  Alleged to have been a senior leader of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, Mr. Mpiranya was charged with eight counts of genocide and crimes against humanity, as well as the murders of 10 Belgian United Nations peacekeepers.

With the devastating toll of war on Ukraine’s children becoming clearer each day, humanitarian efforts — punctuated by several “monumental” recent evacuations of trapped civilians — must continue to scale up, officials told the Security Council today, as the representatives of Kyiv and Moscow traded accusations of attacks on schools and educational indoctrination.

The Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, in connection with the examination of the fifth report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in Yemen (S/2021/761), agreed to convey the following messages through a public statement by the Chair of the Working Group:

The United Nations-Energy Plan of Action Towards 2025 was launched today, presenting collective action by 30 United Nations entities and international organizations aiming to enable 500 million more people to gain access to electricity, and to create 30 million jobs in renewable energy and energy efficiency, among other targets.

The Houthis movement — also known as Ansar Allah — have signed an action plan with the United Nations to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict, the killing and maiming of boys and girls, attacks on schools and hospitals and other grave violations.  Virginia Gamba, Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, signed the action plan as a witness in New York.

Increasing reports of sexual violence and human trafficking in Ukraine — allegedly committed against women and children in the context of massive displacement and ongoing fighting — are raising “all the red flags” about a potential protection crisis, the Executive Director of the United Nations gender agency warned the Security Council today.

Following is the text of UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s video message on the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report on learning loss:

Nearly half of all pregnancies worldwide, about 121 million a year, are unintended, a report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) says, warning the Ukraine and other conflicts are expected to drive an increase through disruption of access to contraception and growing sexual violence.

Stephanie Williams, the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Libya, welcomed in Tunis today members of the High Council of State, who will participate in determining the constitutional basis for national elections.  It is extremely important to respect the will of 2.8 million registered Libyan voters, she said.