SECRETARY-GENERAL’S TRIP
This afternoon, the Secretary-General will travel to Japan, where he will take part in the Peace Memorial Ceremony in Hiroshima on Saturday. He will reiterate his call on world leaders to urgently eliminate stockpiles of nuclear weapons.
As we mentioned before, he will also meet a group of surviving victims of the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As you know, the survivors are known as the hibakusha, and he will also participate in a dialogue with young activists.
From there, he will head off to Mongolia and the Republic of Korea.

OUR COMMON AGENDA
This morning, the Secretary-General briefed the General Assembly on progress accomplished since the launch of Our Common Agenda report.
Mr. Guterres said, in the year since the report was presented, the need for its proposals has only increased. Business as usual will almost certainly guarantee a future of constant crises and devastating risks, he told Member States.
Turning to the proposals in Our Common Agenda, the Secretary-General said he is pleased to see that work has started on many of them. Preparations are well advanced for the Transforming Education Summit in September, which will provide an opportunity to mobilize action and reimagine education systems fit for the future.
He also announced that, during the forthcoming session of the General Assembly, he will present a plan to reform the international financial architecture to tackle historic weaknesses and inequalities.
Turning to his proposal to organize a Summit of the Future, the Secretary-General described progress, as well as ideas, to develop this event.

LEBANON
This morning, in a Tweet, the Secretary-General said, we mark two years since the horrific explosion at the Beirut port – it is two years without justice.
In the name of the dead, among them the son of a UN staff member, the Secretary-General reiterated his call for an impartial, thorough and transparent investigation into the explosion.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
Turning to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, we have been asked about recent developments there, and I will tell you that we regret the decision of the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to request a member of the UN peacekeeping mission (MONUSCO), its Spokesperson, to depart the country.
In line with the status of the UN under the Charter of the Organization, any concerns that the Government may have regarding the actions of a member of MONUSCO should be raised directly with the Mission leadership. The Mission and UN Headquarters are accordingly engaging with the Government to address this matter.
Also, the Security Council met in closed consultations this morning to discuss the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They were briefed by Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the head of the Peace Operations Department.

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC                                                           
A quick update from the peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic: yesterday, the Head of our peacekeeping mission there, Valentine Rugwabiza, handed over to national authorities newly-built and equipped premises for the gendarmerie of Begoua, which is in the Ombella-Mpoko prefecture.
The new facility will help enhance security in the area and further the implementation of the national plan to strengthen interior security forces as part of the Mission’s efforts to restore State authority.
On Tuesday, in Bangassou, the Mission organized a session for 125 people – including 75 women – to provide information on our support for the peace process and forthcoming local elections.
In the past week, peacekeepers conducted a total of 1,209 patrols in the country, all with the aim of protecting civilians. These patrols took place in areas such as Bakouma, Bria, Nzako and Ouanda-Djallé, which have all been impacted by insecurity.

NAGORNO-KARABAKH
I was also asked about the situation between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and I can tell you that the Secretary-General is following with concern recent reports of tensions in and around the Nagorno-Karabakh region. While we are not in a position to confirm or verify such reports, we urge the sides to exercise restraint and address all outstanding issues through dialogue.

U.N. POPULATION FUND
The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) today announced the ten winners of its first-ever Joint Innovation Challenge, a competition to fund social enterprises with innovative solutions that advance the empowerment of women and girls worldwide.
The winners pitched a range of innovations - from a portable diagnostic system for pre-eclampsia to a board game that shares information on sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Dr. Natalia Kanem, the head of UNFPA, said that “creative thinking and innovative solutions are key to accelerate progress for women and girls around the world.”
Ten organizations headed by women – from Costa Rica, Armenia, Mongolia, Uganda, Nigeria, Turkey, Colombia, Bangladesh, Rwanda, and Cameroon – were honoured this year.
The 10 winners each received $60,000 which will allow these organizations to move from pilot stage to scale.

CAMBODIA
A report by the UN Human Rights Office has found that journalists in Cambodia are increasingly being subjected to various forms of harassment and pressure, as well as violence, amid growing restrictions on civic space and press freedoms in the country.
Sixty-five journalists were interviewed and surveyed as part of the report, and they all stated they had faced some form of interference in the course of their work, while more than 80 percent of those surveyed said they had experienced surveillance and disproportionate or unnecessary restrictions, including in relation to access to information.
The report said that, for years, the authorities in Cambodia have actively adopted legislation restricting civic space generally and press freedom in particular.
The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, said the findings in this report are very concerning, urging the authorities to take on board her Office’s recommendations to ensure the media can carry out their vital work fairly and transparently for the benefit of all Cambodians.
“A free, independent and pluralistic media plays a central role in every democratic society,” she said. “When we defend media freedom, we defend justice, good governance and human rights.”

BRIEFINGS TOMORROW
Tomorrow, we will have a briefing by the Food and Agriculture Organization’s Chief Economist, Maximo Torero. He will join us virtually to brief on FAO’s latest Food Price Index.
Then, at 1 p.m., there will be a briefing in person here by Dr. Robert Floyd, the Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, known as the CTBTO.

FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION
After a long, dry spell, I am happy to report we have a new payment on the payment file, and that is from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and we thank Pyongyang for that.