The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria, briefing the Security Council today on efforts to push forward a constitutional committee aimed at ending the eight-year-long conflict in Syria, also announced his decision to step down at the end of November, while vowing to vigorously pursue a balanced, fair and inclusive political solution “until the last hour” of his tenure.
At the launch of the United Nations System Workplace Mental Health and Well-being Strategy, the Secretary-General highlighted the importance of ensuring the well-being of staff, many of whom work in increasingly dangerous environments, and the need to fight the stigma of talking about mental health issues in the workplace.
The UN refugee agency today drew attention to a collapsing health situation among refugees and asylum-seekers at off-shore facilities in Papua New Guinea and Nauru, calling on the Government of Australia to urgently act to prevent a further tragedy to people forcibly transferred under its off-shore processing policy.
Today marks the International Day of the Girl Child. Under the 2018 theme “With Her: A Skilled Girl Force”, it celebrates today’s generation of girls preparing to enter a world of work being transformed by innovation and automation. In his message, the Secretary-General noted that his Youth2030 strategy aims to work with girls.
Relentless conflict and insecurity during South Sudan’s annual lean season have pushed 6.1 million people — nearly 60 per cent of the population – into extreme hunger, the Food and Agriculture Organization, United Nations Children’s Fund and the World Food Programme say in a new report.
An estimated 6.3 million children under the age of 15 died in 2017, mostly of preventable causes, according to new mortality estimates released by UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Population Division and the World Bank Group.
Syria, in its eighth year of war, must not miss an opportunity to create the constitutional committee, the top United Nations official tasked with seeking a peaceful resolution to the crisis told the Security Council today, also welcoming the new Russian Turkish agreement to establish a demilitarized zone in Idlib.
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:
The Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen today said the situation in Hodeidah has deteriorated over recent days and that families are terrified by the bombardment, shelling and air strikes. More than 25 per cent of children are malnourished; 900,000 people are desperate for food; and 90,000 pregnant women are at risk.
Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, marking the United Nations Day for South‑South Cooperation, said that developing countries have become key actors to implement the Sustainable Development Agenda and that their leadership, practices and experiences have played a major part in global transformation.
