UN DAY
Today is UN Day, which marks the anniversary of the entry into force in 1945 of the UN Charter.
In his message, the Secretary-General said that, every day, the women and men of the United Nations work to give practical meaning to the Charter.
“Despite the odds and the obstacles, we never give up,” he said, and called on UN staff to reaffirm their commitment to eradicate poverty, reduce inequality, protect human rights and work for peace in all parts of the world.
And this evening at 7 p.m., the UN Day Concert will take place in the General Assembly Hall and will feature sarod virtuoso Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, who will be accompanied by his sons, Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash, and the Refugee Orchestra Project. The theme of this year's concert is "Traditions of Peace and Non-violence", and it is sponsored by the Permanent Mission of India.
UNITED STATES
In response to questions on the Secretary-General’s travel to Washington, D.C. yesterday, the Deputy Spokesperson said that the Secretary-General met with US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo on Tuesday and they continued their discussions on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the path towards denuclearization, the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Yemen, and Syria.
SYRIA
The Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, visited Damascus today and met Walid Al-Moualem, the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. They had a frank and intense exchange of views in a cordial atmosphere.
The meeting took place following that between the Secretary-General and Deputy Prime Minister Moualem in New York on 28 September and against the backdrop of continuing consultations of the Special Envoy on the launch of a constitutional committee giving effect to the Sochi Final Statement.
The Special Envoy will report to the Secretary-General. He also looks forward to briefing the Security Council.
He will be engaging in intensive further consultations in the period ahead as he continues the task of verifying the possibilities for convening a credible and balanced UN-facilitated, Syrian-owned and Syrian-led constitutional committee. In this context, he will continue to fully discharge his mandate for the remainder of his tenure.
YEMEN
The Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock, briefed the Security Council yesterday afternoon and told the members that there is now a clear and present danger of an imminent and great big famine engulfing Yemen – much bigger than anything any professional in this field has seen during their working lives.
He warned that an additional 3.5 million people are likely to become severely food insecure in the months ahead, added to the 8 million Yemenis that are already being reached each month through the UN-coordinated response effort.
Meanwhile, he said, the immune systems of millions of people on survival support for years on end are now collapsing, making them – especially children and the elderly – more likely to succumb to malnutrition, cholera and other diseases. He called on all stakeholders to do everything possible to avert catastrophe.
DRC
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that recent insecurity in several areas in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has forced tens of thousands of people to flee for safety and caused many humanitarian organizations to suspend or limit their activities.
In Beni, North Kivu, the epicentre of the new Ebola outbreak, following the most recent attack on 20 October when at least 12 civilians were killed, all humanitarian activities were suspended, including the Ebola Treatment Centre, which had no medical staff in place for about three hours. Activities had already been suspended before in September for several days due to direct threats against humanitarian actors.
There have also been serious concerns about infiltrations by armed groups in the Ruzizi Plain and the regions along the shores of Lake Tanganyika, also in eastern DRC, including armed confrontations, which led to the suspension of humanitarian operations on 20 October in the areas between Kamanyola and Uvira.
Insecurity and displacement are putting serious pressure on an already stretched humanitarian response in the country, where the number of people in need of humanitarian protection and assistance has nearly doubled over the last year to an estimated 13.1 million people – one out of every seven Congolese.
SECURITY COUNCIL
This morning, the Security Council was briefed by the President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf.
In the afternoon, the Council is scheduled to have a meeting on Myanmar.
DATA FORUM
The UN World Data Forum wrapped up today in Dubai, with the launch of a Dubai Declaration to increase financing for better data and statistics for sustainable development. The Declaration calls for the establishment of an innovative funding mechanism that will aim to mobilize both domestic and international funds, and to activate partnerships to strengthen national data and statistical systems. It was announced that Switzerland will host the next UN World Data Forum in Bern in October 2020.
WORLD DEVELOPMENT INFORMATION DAY
Today is World Development Information Day, which seeks to draw attention to development problems and the need to strengthen international cooperation to solve them.
HONOUR ROLL
Today, we thank Cameroon, which has paid its regular budget dues in full. The total on the Honour Roll is now 146.
