Zero Waste, Myanmar, Security Council & other…

Today is the first-ever International Day of Zero Waste. The Secretary-General said at a high-level meeting of the General Assembly this morning – as part of the events to mark the Day - that humanity is treating our planet like a garbage dump. He warned that by 2050, municipal solid waste will double to 4 billion tonnes each year. He called on everyone to work as one to build a circular, zero-waste future. 

In a statement released earlier today, the Secretary-General noted his deep concern by reports that the Union Election Commission, appointed by the military in Myanmar, has dissolved 40 opposition parties, including the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Any attempts to undermine democratic institutions and processes will only deepen the crisis and delay the return to a fully democratic and inclusive Myanmar. 

This morning, the Security Council held an open debate on Peace and Security in Africa, focusing on the impact of development policies in the implementation of the Silencing the Guns initiative.  

Also on Mozambique, U.N. humanitarian colleagues are appealing for additional funding to help some 815,000 men, women and children impacted by a triple crisis: floods, cholera and Tropical Cyclone Freddy.  

Speaking to the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission today, the Deputy Head of the mission, Guang Cong, commended the resumption of the talks between the Transitional Government and the Non-Signatory South Sudanese Opposition Group, under the auspices of the Sant’ Egidio Community, as well as some security and legislative advances.  

Since last month, the UN and its partners have provided shelter support, including tents, to nearly 100,000 people in Syria. Partners have also distributed more than 850,000 ready-to-eat food rations and over 1 million hot meals to people across the impacted areas. 

In Vanuatu, over 250,000 people -that is about 80% of the country’s population - have been impacted by the two category 4 cyclones and earthquakes that hit the country earlier this month.  

Today, Major General Aroldo Lázaro, the Head of Mission in Lebanon - UNIFIL, the peacekeeping mission,  chaired a regular Tripartite meeting at a UN position in Ras al-Naqoura, in southern Lebanon. 

In response to questions related to the work of the UN mission in Western Sahara, MINURSO, the Spokesman said that colleagues there recall that a resupply to team sites East of the berm has been an issue on which we have been in discussions with the parties.

A campaign was launched by the Regional Education Group for Latin America and the Caribbean – which includes UNICEF, UNESCO, Save the Children and others – and which aims to highlight the educational crisis experienced by children and adolescents on the move.