United Nations published this video item, entitled “Security Council, Middle East & other topics – Daily Press Briefing (12 May 2022)” – below is their description.
Briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Highlights:
– Chief Executives Board
– Security Council
– Middle East
– Central African Republic
– Rwanda
– Kenya
– Ethiopia
– Senior Personnel Appointment
– Indonesia/COVID-19
– Drought
– Plant Health
CHIEF EXECUTIVES BOARD
In Vienna today, the Secretary-General opened a meeting of the heads of the UN System organizations, known as the Chief Executives Board (CEB).
In this session, the Chief Executives Board members will reflect on current world affairs, as well as on the challenges to the global economic recovery and how to reverse the trend of losing momentum on attaining the Sustainable Development Goals.
SECURITY COUNCIL
This morning, the Security Council voted to extend the mandate of the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei until November 2022.
Also, this morning, briefing the Security Council on Ukraine, Joyce Msuya, the Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, condemned recent attacks and clashes that have caused immense human suffering, mainly in the eastern and southern regions of the country. She reiterated the UN’s commitment to explore all options from local pauses to wider ceasefires, to reach more people in need, and save lives.
Ms. Msuya urged the parties to the conflict to remove any barriers to the movement of humanitarian staff to ensure the continued delivery of life-saving assistance across Ukraine. She reiterated that civilians in Ukraine are paying far too high a price for the war and that parties to the conflict have the obligation, under international humanitarian law, to protect all civilians, their homes, schools, hospitals and other essential infrastructure.
Ms. Msuya said that the situation is particularly worrying in Luhanska Oblast, where an estimated 40,000 people are cut off from electricity, water and gas supplies, and mobile networks across Government-controlled areas of this region, according to local authorities. This is due to infrastructure destruction. In the neighbouring Donetska Oblast, humanitarian colleagues are also reporting heavy shelling in the city over the last days.
Ms. Msuya noted that in Odesa, southern Ukraine, several airstrikes over the last few days have reportedly caused heavy damage to homes, the airport and other key civilian infrastructure. Several civilian casualties have been reported, although we have not been able to verify the figures yet.
Also briefing Council members, the UN Children’s Fund Deputy Executive Director, Omar Abdi, said that in just this past month, the UN has verified that nearly 100 children were killed. He added that we believe the actual figures to be considerably higher. He noted that more children have been injured and faced grave violations of their rights while millions more have been displaced.
Mr. Abdi added that schools continue to be attacked and used for military purposes and water and sanitation infrastructure have been impacted. The war in Ukraine, like all wars, he said, is a child protection and child rights crisis.
This afternoon the Security Council will hold closed consultations on Afghanistan. The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Deborah Lyons, will brief Council members.
Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=12%20May%202022
United Nations YouTube Channel
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