Palestinian issues

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

Journalists, media experts, policymakers and scholars within academic and faith communities in Palestine, Israel and elsewhere gathered for the opening of the twenty‑seventh annual International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East today, held for the first time in virtual format, amid the ongoing COVID‑19 pandemic.

The annual United Nations International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East will be held virtually on Tuesday, 8 December, from 10 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.EST, and Wednesday, 9 December from 10:30 a.m. to noon EST.

Following are UN Secretary‑General António Guterres’ remarks at the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People 2020 Virtual Meeting, held today:

The United Nations marks the passage of General Assembly resolution 181 (ii) of 1947 every year as the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, with special meetings and events at Headquarters in New York, and at the UN offices in Vienna, Geneva, Nairobi and elsewhere, organized on or around 29 November.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) still desperately needs $70 million in contributions to avoid painful measures in the coming weeks and to limit the amount of liabilities carried over into 2021, Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini has told the Agency’s Advisory Board.

Holding a virtual meeting today, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) heard introductory statements and questions relating to international cooperation on the peaceful uses of outer space, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and peacekeeping operations.  It also heard an introductory statement on questions relating to information.

Fighting in Afghanistan’s Kunduz Province has displaced 52,000 people since 16 August following attacks by a non-State armed group and responsive strikes by national security forces.  A surge of United Nations staff is under way to boost humanitarian capacity in Kunduz and a joint assessment team was deployed.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ briefing to the Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question, in New York today:

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the extraordinary virtual ministerial pledging conference “A strong United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in a challenging world — mobilizing collective action”, in New York today: