Middle East

An immersive show called “Voices for the Future: Antarctica While You Were Sleeping” will light up the United Nations General Assembly and Secretariat buildings from 7:30 p.m. today, ahead of the Climate Action Summit, setting the scene for the voices of six young climate advocates, including Greta Thunberg.

ANKARA, 12 September — The 2019 International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East concluded today with robust discussions on topics ranging from better ways to report on women in the Occupied Palestinian Territory to social media’s role in supporting Palestinian activism — or spreading harmful misinformation — in a rapidly changing world.

ANKARA, 11 September — The 2019 International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East opened here today, with journalists, academics, diplomats and senior Government officials examining the crucial role of media and online activists in amplifying the voices of everyday Palestinians more than 50 years into the occupation.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message to the United Nations International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East, in Ankara today:

There is urgent need to safeguard the global consensus on the Palestinian question, the Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine said today, expressing hope that forthcoming elections in both Israel and the United States will offer a path towards shifting the political dynamics around the two-State formula.

In Central America, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is launching five campaigns designed to underscore the risks of irregular migration and encourage informed decision-making among young migrants.  The campaigns will take place in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua.

Scattered violence, rising death and injury tolls, and the ongoing construction of settlements in occupied territory continue against a backdrop of stalled negotiations on how to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process told the Security Council today.

Amid recent developments in the Persian Gulf and the wider Middle East, the Security Council discussed today how to ease tensions and contribute constructively to the resolution of conflicts in the region, as many speakers described the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as the core of regional instability.

United Nations humanitarian officials in the Philippines report that the Government declared a national dengue epidemic yesterday.  There have now been more than 146,000 reported cases of dengue fever and 622 confirmed fatalities since the beginning of 2019, mostly affecting children between 5 and 9 years old.

With the aim to support the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and ensure operational continuity, the Secretary-General has decided, in coordination with UNRWA’s Commissioner-General, to appoint Christian Saunders of the United Kingdom as Acting Deputy Commissioner-General of UNRWA at the level of Assistant Secretary-General.