Japan

The Secretary-General arrived in Yokohama, Japan, on Tuesday 19 August.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) launched a major operation this week over 180 square kilometres to find unauthorized weapon caches and infrastructure in coordination with the Lebanese Armed Forces, which has led to the discovery of unexploded ordnances, a cave and two tunnels in Sector East.

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to the Tokyo Conference, held in Tokyo today:

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today warned that millions of children in Sudan are at risk of rape and other forms of sexual violence, which is being used as a tactic of war. According to UNICEF, armed men are raping and sexually assaulting children, including infants as young as one, amid the nationwide conflict.

Today, selected participants of the Youth Leader Fund for a World without Nuclear Weapons begin their week-long study visit to Japan. There, they will meet with survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and host their own youth-led conference.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message, to be read by Izumi Nakamitsu, High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, on the seventy-ninth anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima, in Hiroshima, Japan, today:

Life-saving supplies in Port Sudan are ready to be loaded and dispatched to Zamzam camp in North Darfur, where famine conditions are present, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ Director of Operations told the Security Council today, stressing swift approvals and security assurances are crucial.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, UN peacekeepers provided training to 400 new recruits of the Congolese Armed Forces to better equip them to respond to the abuses committed against civilians by armed groups in hard-to-reach areas.

The new Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations, Yamazaki Kazuyuki, presented his credentials to UN Secretary-General António Guterres today.

In Lebanon, after a week-long suspension of services in Ein el Hilweh camp due to armed clashes, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has resumed operations. Health Centre II reopened today. UNRWA is also preparing to assess and clear remnants of war from affected zones.