The Secretary-General attended commemorative events in Beijing, marking the Second World War’s seventieth anniversary. Meeting with President Xi Jinping, he called for China’s continued support for building momentum ahead of the Paris Climate Change Conference and for implementation of the new development agenda.
The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen condemned the killing of two International Committee of the Red Cross staff members in Amran Governate. The Emergency Relief Coordinator reiterated a call for all parties to the conflict to respect international humanitarian law and to protect aid workers.
The Secretary-General called today the “start of a new era”, as he handed over to the General Assembly the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to be endorsed at the Summit later this month. He said the new Agenda aimed high, putting people at the centre of development while fostering prosperity, peace and justice.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that in the past five days, civilians in the Yemeni city of Taiz have been caught between frontlines, subjected to indiscriminate violence and other human rights violations. Sixty-five people have been killed and more than 400 injured.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said serious human rights violations and abuses committed in Darfur in 2014 had largely gone uninvestigated and unpunished. Its report, based on information from the African Union-UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), revealed widespread impunity.
Special Representative for Sexual Violence in Conflict, Zainab Hawa Bangura, said a comprehensive response to conflict-related sexual violence must include proactive and purposeful engagement with the security sector, especially in settings where those services may have been involved in committing such abuse.
The Secretary-General is relieved that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) will be able to open its school year, safeguarding the education of 500,000 students in United Nations schools across the Middle East.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations Support Mission in Libya expressed extreme concern over recent events involving militants claiming allegiance to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant/Sham in Sirte following reports of the terrorist group’s attacks in the area.
The Secretary-General condemns the assassination of Colonel Jean Bikomagu, the former Army Chief of Staff, in Burundi on 15 August. He reiterates his calls to all Burundians to resume an inclusive dialogue without delay to peacefully settle their differences.
United Nations humanitarian chief Stephen O’Brien is scheduled to visit Syria and Lebanon from today until 17 August and is expected to meet with displaced and refugee families and to discuss with key officials ways of strengthening aid operations during the protracted conflict, which has displaced millions.
