Despite the overall negative trajectory that had characterized the Israeli‑Palestinian conflict for far too long, there were reasons for cautious optimism, the Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs told the Security Council today as the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question, was addressed in an all‑day debate that heard from more than forty speakers.
The Secretary-General, expressing his solidarity with the people of Somalia after the brutal attacks in Mogadishu, said he was disgusted by the unprecedented violence. He urged all Somalis to unite in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism and work together in building a functional and inclusive federal State.
VIENNA, 6 October — The International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East concluded today, with two panel discussions exploring themes of bias, objectivity, truth and the role of both social and traditional media in covering the issues that mattered most to Palestinians and Israelis.
VIENNA, 5 October — The 2017 International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East opened in Vienna today, with journalists, diplomats, academics and civil society representatives sharing views on the status of peace efforts, ways to end the occupation — now in its fiftieth year — and media narratives about the Israel-Palestine conflict.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that over 509,000 Rohingya refugees have fled into Bangladesh from Myanmar. Noting the “horrific” living conditions of the refugees, the Emergency Relief Coordinator and UNICEF’s Executive Director called for urgent funding to scale up the response.
About the response to the cholera outbreak in Yemen, medicines procured by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for the treatment of 30,000 patients have been airlifted to Djibouti, in the Horn of Africa, for transfer across the Red Sea to the Yemeni port of Hodeidah.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that the number of Rohingya refugees who have fled Myanmar to Bangladesh has surpassed 700,000, with 480,000 arriving since late August. The United Nations continues to provide aid, but the massive influx of refugees is outpacing the capacity to respond.
The number of Rohingya refugees who have fled Myanmar and arrived in Bangladesh in the past month has reached 436,000. Aid agencies have reached more than 80 per cent of these people with food aid and are scaling up their support.
Israel had moved forward with illegal settlement activity at a high rate since late June further dashing hopes for a two-State solution, the United Nations top envoy for the Middle East peace process told the Security Council today.
The Secretary-General spoke at a high-level meeting on reform of the United Nations. He stressed that the true test will be measured through tangible results in the lives of the people the Organization serves — and the trust of those who support its work through their hard-earned resources.
