CLIMATE
The Secretary-General today met with members of Civil Society Organizations on his Climate Acceleration Agenda. After his meeting, he spoke to journalists and said the climate agenda is being undermined. “We are hurtling towards disaster, eyes wide open – with far too many willing to bet it all on wishful thinking, unproven technologies and silver bullet solutions,” he said, and underscored that the problem is not simply fossil fuel emissions. It’s fossil fuels – period. 
He called on countries to progressively phase fossil fuels them out, moving to leave oil, coal and gas in the ground where they belong – and massively boost renewable investment. 
He also called on fossil fuel companies to cease and desist influence peddling and legal threats design to kneecap progress. Collective climate action does not violate antitrust. It upholds public trust, he said.

SYRIA CONFERENCE
Today, the seventh conference on “Supporting the future of Syria and the region,” organized by the European Union, was held at the ministerial level in Brussels.
In a video message, the Secretary-General said we have no time to spare – food or cash assistance will run out for two-and-half million Syrians next month alone. He stressed that funding our appeal – and disbursing funds quickly – must be priority number one.
Speaking at the event, the Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, Joyce Msuya, said that the people of Syria are facing their highest levels of humanitarian need in the history of the grueling 12-year conflict.
Stressing that the scale of needs is unprecedented, Ms. Msuya said the $11 billion humanitarian appeal for 2023 is just one-fifth funded.
She said support is desperately needed to provide lifesaving assistance and to scale up early recovery programming.
At the event, participants pledged 5.6b Euros in grants for 2023 and beyond.

UKRAINE
In Ukraine, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) continues to support the response to the Kakhovka Dam destruction. There were two inter-agency convoys today that traveled to impacted areas, in addition to the ongoing assistance provided by the UN and our partners. 
In the Kherson region, the UN teams were today in Kalynivske, which is home to nearly 1,700 people who were already facing serious humanitarian needs due to the war. This community used to have a population of 3,400 people before February 2022.
The UN has delivered water, hygiene kits, bedding and shelter material, as well as food for all people in the town for a month. Enough medicine and medical supplies to treat the entire population for three months was also delivered. 
In the Dnipro Region, the UN team delivered eight truckloads of critical humanitarian assistance for at least 4,000 people in two communities in the south, where 40,000 people – many of them elderly – have extremely limited access to water because of the destruction of the Dam. 
The UN has also provided emergency services, including first aid and counselling, shelter materials and dignity kits, to people affected by the attack yesterday in Odesa and the day before in Kryvyi Rih.
While humanitarians in Ukraine are working tirelessly to provide people with the emergency aid they desperately need, the UN calls on the international community to enable this vital operation to continue.  So far this year, aid organizations in the country have received only 26 per cent of the $3.9 billion needed for the humanitarian response – with a worsening situation we need more funding to be able to respond to the needs.  

BLACK SEA INITIATIVE
The Office of the UN Coordinator for the Black Sea Initiative noted that as of today, the total grain and foodstuffs exported under the Black Sea Initiative is 31,902,478 metric tonnes (MT).  This includes 625,169 MT of grain shipped on vessels chartered by the World Food Programme (WFP) in support of its humanitarian operations in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. 
The volume of food exported by the Initiative in May was the lowest since the start of the Initiative and well below shipping demand and Ukraine’s export capacity. 
There are currently 8 vessels loading in Ukrainian ports, 5 in Chornomorsk and 3 in Odesa.  No vessel is in the port of Yuzhny/Pivdennyi, the third port covered under the Initiative, which has accounted for more than a third of exports of the Initiative.  
As of 15 June, there are 42 applications of vessels from the Ukrainian Sea Port Authority awaiting the Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) registration. 
Since 25 May, the JCC has reduced the number of inspection teams from three to two. From 1 to 4 June, the JCC conducted no inspections as the parties could not agree on the vessels to be inspected. Given reduced teams and slower inspections, since 5 June, the JCC has adjusted its planning to process fewer ships each day. 
The Office of the UN Coordinator calls on all parties to work towards the full implementation of the Initiative's provisions. The Office further calls on all parties to work towards predictable, stable operations in line with their commitments to global food security.

SUDAN
The United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) today strongly condemned the killing of the Governor of West Darfur in El Geneina, Khamis Abdullah Abbaker. 
UNITAMS said that the loss of Mr. Abbaker, a key interlocutor in the region and a signatory of the Juba Peace Agreement, is deeply regrettable.
The Mission also strongly denounced the ongoing military escalation and fighting in Darfur and urged an immediate cessation of all military operations in order to de-escalate the situation, address the growing ethnic violence, allow access to humanitarian aid and prevent further deterioration that could lead to a large-scale conflict.

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
We have an update on MINUSCA’s announcement last Friday of the decision by the Secretariat to repatriate a unit of 60 Tanzanian military personnel, following serious allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse. 
On Saturday, 10 June, the United Nations repatriated the unit concerned along with its commander back to Tanzania. The repatriation took place after the individuals concerned were interviewed for the purposes of the investigation.   
As indicated last Friday, upon being notified, the Tanzanian authorities have deployed national investigation officers to the Central African Republic.  
Meanwhile, the identified victims continue to be provided with medical, psychosocial and protection assistance by the Mission’s humanitarian partners.

HAITI
UNICEF said today that nearly 3 million children – the highest number on record – need humanitarian support in Haiti.  Boys and girls in the country face staggering levels of violence that have exacerbated hunger and malnutrition in a country already mired in poverty and a resurgence of cholera.
The agency said the number of children suffering from life-threatening malnutrition shot up by 30 percent since last year, and nearly one in four children across the country suffers from chronic malnutrition.
UNICEF added that many children and young people in metropolitan Port-au-Prince say they are being forced to join armed groups for protection or because it means food and income for the family. 
UNICEF is scaling up its operations and expanding its presence in the field, in spite of the limited funding. The agency’s US$246 million funding requirement for Haiti this year is less than 15 per cent funded.

CYCLONE BIPARJOY
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today warned that over 625,000 children are at immediate risk from strong winds, heavy rainfall and flooding as Cyclone Biparjoy made landfall today. 
UNICEF noted that in Pakistan, Cyclone Biparjoy threatens a new crisis for children and families in Sindh, the province worst affected by last year’s devastating floods.  UNICEF said it is on standby to support the national emergency response and the country office has already prepositioned lifesaving supplies for children and families, including hygiene and water purification kits, bednets, and Vitamin A supplements, near the districts expected to be hit hardest.
In India, the UN Children’s Fund said that it also ready to support the national emergency response, focusing on the most vulnerable children and their families.  On the ground, UNICEF is in contact with the government, which is leading preparedness, response and evacuation efforts, and working in coordination with the Interagency Groups to share updates and disseminate information in the most affected districts.

ECOSOC
The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) will convene a special meeting on Friday at 10 am in the Trusteeship Council Chamber to mobilize action and resources in support of food security in Haiti and to call on the international community to show solidarity with the Haitian people and contribute to the funding appeals. Among high-level officials, there will be the Prime Ministers of Jamaica and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and also the Executive Directors of WFP and UNICEF.  

DESERTIFICATION
Saturday is Desertification and Drought Day. The focus this year is on women’s land rights. A high-level event is taking place tomorrow at UNHQ, organized jointly by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), UN Women, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) to advance women’s land rights and promote stronger female leadership in sustainable land management. 
Droughts are among the greatest threats to sustainable development; forecasts estimate that by 2050 droughts may affect over three-quarters of the world’s population. Women, who comprise nearly half of the world's agricultural workforce hold a vital stake in the health of the land and suffer most when land is degraded.

ELDER ABUSE AWARENESS DAY
Today is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.  Elder abuse is a problem that exists in both developing and developed countries yet is typically underreported globally.  It demands a global multifaceted response, one which focuses on protecting the rights of older persons.