Tom Fletcher speaks to Gazans. Top Stories of the Day | Tuesday: DRC, Middle East, Syria, FGM UN
Top Stories of the Day in the UN and around the World: UN Secretary-General calls for ceasefire in DRC, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs visits Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, Independent Commission on Syria reports new report, Day Against Female Genocide.
Peace for the DRC
“Stop the escalation. Respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.” These are the words UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke with at a press conference at UN headquarters in New York ahead of meetings to resolve the conflict in the region.
The offensive by the M23 rebel group, backed by Rwandan forces, has caused widespread casualties and displacement. Next week, the Secretary-General will travel to the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa to attend a meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council. The crisis in the DRC will be a focus of the meeting, Guterres stressed.
Middle East
UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher arrived in the Gaza Strip today with a humanitarian convoy. Fletcher visited two hospitals in the northern part of the enclave – Al-Shifa in Gaza City and Al-Awda in Jabalia, where he met with patients, medical staff and clinic management. He also spoke with Palestinians returning to their homes and trying to rebuild their destroyed homes. Fletcher visited several other areas of the enclave and personally assessed the needs of the population.
Accountability for Violations in Syria
Large-scale looting and destruction of property in Syria by all parties to the conflict has gone largely unpunished and likely amounts to war crimes, according to a new report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria. The violence has killed hundreds of thousands of Syrians and displaced 15 million, the report says. Parties to the conflict, including the security forces of the ousted Assad regime, have persecuted their opponents, activists and human rights defenders, the independent experts say. The commissioners are not UN staff. They are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to conduct an independent investigation.
Female Genital Mutilation
“Female genital mutilation is a horrific act of gender-based violence.” This is stated in the message of the UN chief Antonio Guterres on the occasion of the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. More than 230 million girls and women have undergone this abhorrent procedure. Such operations cause serious physical and mental harm, the consequences of which are felt throughout life, and lead to risks to the health and lives of women. In addition, such procedures violate the right of women and girls to bodily autonomy, safety and dignity. Antonio Guterres called for the eradication of this cruel practice by 2030.