The annual report of the Secretary-General that provides an overview of the grave violations committed against children in conflict zones this year presented a “mixed picture”, correspondents were told at Headquarters today.

Africa can emerge as a global growth pole as it had become more attractive to foreign investors because of reforms and the resolution of conflicts, Rob Vos, Director of the Development Policy and Analysis Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, today told correspondents at a Headquarters briefing.

Expecting to welcome its 7,000th corporate participant this week, the United Nations Global Compact had sent out a call to companies still doubtful about sustainability issues to “come down from the fence” and join the movement, Executive Georg Kell said at a Headquarters press conference today.

The UN Mission in Syria said today that observers trying to reach the town of al-Haffeh today were confronted with angry crowds that surrounded their vehicles, hurling stones and metal rods. The observers turned back and, as they were leaving the area, three vehicles heading towards Idlib were fired upon. The source of the fire is still unclear and the observers are now secure at their base.

Martin Kobler, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, said that he was deeply shocked and utterly dismayed by the despicable attacks across Iraq today. Those attacks have claimed the lives of scores of Iraqis, including many pilgrims, and have injured dozens more. He urgently appealed to the Government to address the root causes of the violence and terrorism that are causing so much suffering and pain to the Iraqi people.

Seven United Nations Agencies, along with a number of international charities, have signed a statement today that marks the fifth year since the start of the blockade in Gaza. The agencies say that more than 1.6 million people have been under blockade, with more than half of them children. The signatories called for an end to the blockade now.

The cost of the economic impact of violence on the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the last years was $9 trillion dollars, Michael Shank, Vice-President of the Institute for Economics and Peace, told correspondents today at Headquarters.

The Secretary-General will travel on Monday, 18 June, to Los Cabos, Mexico to participate in the G-20 leaders’ meeting, and on Tuesday he will travel to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, also known as Rio+20.

The Secretary-General left this morning for the G-20 meeting in Los Cabos, Mexico. This afternoon, he will participate in the first plenary session on “The Global Economy and Framework for Strong, Sustainable, and Balanced Growth”, and he is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with a number of leaders.

Tomorrow is World Refugee Day. And there are nearly 44 million refugees and internally displaced people around the world. The Office of the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, provides assistance to many of them and today's guest is Khaled Hosseini, Goodwill Envoy for the Office. And he is here to brief you on his work with the Refugee Agency in Afghanistan, in particular.