UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed speaks at the opening ceremony of the World Women’s Forum in Ulaanbaatar. Top stories of the day | Thursday: Gaza, Mongolia, Belarus, the Pacific Ocean UN
Top stories of the day in the UN and the world: UN Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, Deputy Secretary-General at the forum in Mongolia, Belarus’ report on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, “climate justice” for island states.
Middle East
More than 40,000 Palestinians and more than 1,600 Israelis and foreigners have been killed in the 10-month Gaza war, which was launched in response to Hamas attacks on Israel. The UN special coordinator for the Middle East has called on Security Council members to seek a ceasefire and the return of hostages to avoid further escalation. Despite enormous difficulties, UN agencies and humanitarian organizations are delivering aid to the affected residents of the strip, the rapporteur said. He warned that these operations are at risk due to the continuation of hostilities.
World Women’s Forum
UN Deputy Chief of Staff Amina Mohammed spoke at the opening of the World Women’s Forum in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. She stressed that achieving equality for women and girls is not just an ideal, but a necessary condition for the international community to address pressing issues, including climate change and poverty. During her trip to Mongolia, Mohammed met with the country’s president and other officials, and spoke with women members of parliament.
Disability Rights
The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has completed its consideration of Belarus’ report on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: experts praised the new law on the rights of persons with disabilities and asked the country’s delegation questions about the closure of disabled people’s organizations and the deprivation of legal capacity of some groups of disabled people. In particular, as the committee experts recalled, the organization “Office for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities” was closed due to accusations of committing “financial crimes.”
UN Chief in Samoa
Pacific island states, threatened by the effects of climate change and economic crises, will be able to solve their “existential” problems only if they have access to sufficient funding. This was stated by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, speaking during his visit to Samoa. He met with residents of the island state forced to leave their homes due to rising sea levels and coastal erosion. Guterres said that ambitious plans to counter the threats have been postponed due to the lack of promised funding.