Children and Armed Conflict, Occupied Palestinian Territory & other topics - Daily Press Briefing

Noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Highlights:
-Secretary-General
- Children and Armed Conflict
- Occupied Palestinian Territory
- Security Council
- Haiti
- Ukraine
- Cyprus
- Sahel
- Afghanistan
- Refugees
- International Albinism Awareness Day
- Guest tomorrow


SECRETARY-GENERAL
Good afternoon everyone. The Secretary-General is traveling today to Borgo Egnazia, Italy, where he will participate in the G7 summit. As he told reporters yesterday, the priorities he believes the G7 leaders should focus on include action on climate change, reform of the international financial architecture and the challenges posed by artificial intelligence.
Earlier today, he was in the Italian city of Brindisi, where he celebrated the 30th anniversary of the United Nations Global Service Centre.
Mr. Guterres said that the Centre is a beacon of service in a troubled world. He noted the ways in which the Centre ensured business continuity for the UN during the COVID-19 pandemic, provided lifesaving supplies to people facing disasters and conflicts from Türkiye to Gaza to Sudan, and helped carry out the effective drawdown and closure of large UN missions, including in Darfur and Mali. His remarks are available online.

CHILDREN AND ARMED CONFLICT
This morning, the annual report of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict was published. Virginia Gamba, the UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, just presented the report to you a short while ago.
She told reporters that the evolving nature, complexity, and intensification of armed conflict, as well as the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, has led to a shocking increase in grave violations committed against children in 2023.
Close to 33,000 grave violations against 22,557 children were verified last year and are included in the report.
She reiterated her call to all parties to conflict to engage with her and the United Nations on the ground, to identify and implement measures to protect children from grave violations.
The full report is online, as well as a press release summary.

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
Turning to the situation in Gaza, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warns that active fighting, access restrictions and other major obstacles continue to undermine our efforts to address the deepening humanitarian crisis. OCHA underscores once again that reaching people in need, wherever they are in Gaza, hinges on safe, sustained and unimpeded access for aid organizations.
The World Food Programme reports that since the Rafah incursion more than a month ago, deliveries to southern and central areas of Gaza have plummeted – though the agency has been able to increase deliveries to the north.
WFP says that insecurity, access restrictions and damaged infrastructure continues to hamper ongoing efforts to move food safely into and within Gaza. Despite these obstacles, the agency was able to reach about one million people in May, though WFP was forced to reduce rations.
Food prices remain exorbitant in Gaza. Availability in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis has increased, but food is still too expensive for the average person to afford.
Meanwhile, our colleagues from the World Health Organization say they are working with partners to meet rising health needs in southern Gaza by supporting the gradual expansion of services at Nasser Medical Complex.
WHO stresses that Nasser and other hospitals in Gaza need ongoing support to stay functional. However, without the sustained flow of aid into and across Gaza, as well as unimpeded access for humanitarian operations, efforts to resupply hospitals remain extremely challenging.

Full Highlights:
https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=13%20June%202024