Nuclear Weapons, Ukraine, Gaza & other topics…

This morning in Vienna, the Secretary-General spoke by pre-recorded video message to the first meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. He said that the once unthinkable prospect of nuclear conflict is now back within the realm of possibility.  

This evening, the Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, will depart New York for Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and to meet with United Nations officials and other stakeholders. On 26 June, she will go to Paris to participate in the Transforming Education Pre-Summit and meet with Member States and other stakeholders. On 30 June, she will then travel on to Lisbon, where she will participate in the UN’s Oceans Conference.  The Deputy Secretary-General will be back in New York on 4 July. 

In Ukraine, the UN and its humanitarian partners, were able to deliver yesterday 12 trucks of critical supplies to help nearly 64,000 people in the cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. Those are close to the frontlines in the Government-controlled areas of Donetska oblast.  
 
The Spokesman said we add our voice to the strong condemnation by our colleagues in the Peacekeeping Mission, following attacks by extremist groups on a number of villages in the Bandiagara region of Central Mali. 

In Kinshasa, starting today and until Friday, the authorities are hosting a forum to develop a draft regional strategy and action plan to prevent and combat hate speech in Central Africa. 

Today marks 15 years since the start of the blockade of the Gaza Strip.  

In Bangladesh, UNICEF has been providing emergency relief to children stranded by the recent floods. Four million people, including 1.6 million children, need urgent help. 

The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, began a four-day official mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina today. This is the first visit by a High Commissioner for Human Rights to Bosnia and Herzegovina since 1998.  

In the Comoros, the UN team, led by Resident Coordinator François Batalingaya, just completed a 25-day campaign to support the national vaccination programme and boost the number of people, particularly adolescents, vaccinated against COVID-19. 

Yesterday, the Secretary-General told the Security Council that humanitarian needs in Syria are at their highest since the start of the war 11 years ago.  The massive humanitarian response that the UN and our partners is conducting in Syria has staved off the worst, but more is required.   

In a statement, the Secretary-General commended the people of Colombia for their participation and historic voter turnout in the second round of the presidential elections that resulted in the election of Mr. Gustavo Petro and his running mate Ms. Francia Marquez to the leadership. 
  
Today is the International Day Yoga. And it’s also the International Day of the Celebration of the Solstice.  
  
Tomorrow, the guest at the noon briefing will be Valentine Rugwabiza, who is the Special Representative for the Central African Republic and Head of the peacekeeping Mission [MINUSCA].