Humanitarian issues

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to the Eighth Annual Brussels Conference “Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region”, in Brussels today:

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

In the wake of a day-long open debate on protecting civilians in armed conflict that it held on 21 May, the Security Council today adopted a resolution calling on States to respect and protect United Nations and humanitarian personnel in accordance with their obligations under international law, recalling those established 75 years ago in the Geneva Conventions of 1949.

In Myanmar, the United Nations continues to follow closely the situation in Rakhine State, which is worsening the vulnerabilities of all communities in one of the country’s poorest regions.

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to the Ninth Conference on Effective Partnership for Better Humanitarian Aid, in Kuwait City today:

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

The Head of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) met Thursday at the UNIFIL base in Ibl el-Saqi with the mayors and religious authorities of south-eastern towns to discuss local needs and the UN’s humanitarian support to impacted communities, including to restore stability along the Blue Line.

Following the official installation of the Transitional Presidential Council in Port-au-Prince today, the Secretary-General reiterated his call for the swift deployment of the Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti to assist the Haitian National Police in addressing the dire security situation in the country.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugeess (UNHCR) today launched its Climate Resilience Fund, seeking to raise $100 million by 2025 to boost the protection of refugees and displaced communities who are most threatened by climate change.

The Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza urged the Security Council today to scale up assistance to meet the immense needs of the civilian population in Gaza, also warning that an Israeli military operation in Rafah would compound the existing humanitarian catastrophe in the Strip.