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.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Secretary-General told the General Assembly today that HIV/AIDS prevention is critical to cut the number of new infections by 1 million by 2015. He said that goal would only be realized if people at risk are reached. Noting the drop in investment, he said funds are needed to reach prevention and treatment targets.
The General Assembly voted this morning to elect Vuk Jeremic, who is the Foreign Minister of Serbia, to be the President of the sixty-seventh session of the General Assembly. Mr. Jeremic received 99 of the 185 valid ballots cast.
The Secretary-General and Joint Special Envoy Kofi Annan spoke at the General Assembly’s informal meeting on Syria this morning, and they warned the Member States that the situation there continues to deteriorate.
The Secretary-General told the General Assembly this morning ahead of the G-20 meeting in Mexico this month that the world economy is in a precarious position. He said that beyond the current global anxiety there is opportunity, and that is the forthcoming Rio+20 Conference on sustainable development.