Daily Press Briefing: Middle East, Security Council, Ethiopia, Peacebuilding Commission, Malawi, Thailand, Myanmar, World Bee Day

The Secretary-General this morning told the General Assembly that the past ten days have witnessed a dangerous and horrific surge in deadly violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly Gaza, and in Israel. He appealed to all parties to cease hostilities now. And he called repeatedly on all sides for an immediate ceasefire.

Security Council members met virtually this morning on Sudan.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs informs us that there have been increased incidents of denial of relief cargo movements and confiscation of humanitarian vehicles and supplies by parties to the conflict in Tigray.

I want to flag a statement issued today by the Peacebuilding Commission, following a meeting earlier this week on Building and Sustaining Peace through Institutions.

The UN team in Malawi, led by Resident Coordinator Maria Jose Torres Macho, continues to support the authorities to fight the pandemic and address its multiple impacts. Malawi received its first shipment of AstraZeneca doses from COVAX in March.

The UN team in Thailand, led by Resident Coordinator Gita Sabharwal, is supporting authorities’ vaccine rollout process.

And in next door Myanmar, UNICEF and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, together with Save the Children, today said they were concerned for the more than 12 million children and young people who have not had access to organized learning for more than a year.

Today is World Bee Day, which aims to raise awareness of the importance of pollinators, the threats they face and their contribution to sustainable development. This year, the theme of the Day is “Bee engaged – Build Back Better for Bees”.

For further details please see SOURCE below.
Office of the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General