UN Daily Press Briefing: Colombia Peace, Gaza Crisis, Sudan, Ukraine & More

Colombia Peace Agreement Milestones

• 🕊️ The Secretary-General welcomed Colombia's Special Jurisdiction for Peace issuing its first restorative sentences, a historic milestone for the 2016 Final Peace Agreement.
• ⚖️ These sentences, initially for FARC-EP commanders, will be followed by sentences for former public security forces, marking a key step in transitional justice.
• ✅ The UN, through its Verification Mission, remains committed to supporting Colombia's pursuit of lasting peace, justice, and reconciliation.

Worsening Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza

• ⚠️ The humanitarian situation in Gaza is worsening, with the UN calling for the immediate protection of civilians amid active hostilities and displacement orders.
• 🏥 Hospitals like Rantisi Children's Hospital have been damaged, forcing patients to flee, while the UN Population Fund warns of women giving birth in the streets without medical care.
• 💧 A complete internet outage across Gaza City hinders information flow, and humanitarian partners report impediments to delivering essential supplies like food and tents.
• 💔 Heavy bombardment fuels distress, especially among children, and thousands of displaced people are seeking refuge in southern Gaza.

Updates from Around the World

• 🇱🇾 In southern Lebanon, UNIFIL peacekeepers continue to monitor violations of Security Council resolution 1701, finding unauthorized weapons and facing intimidation.
• 🇸🇩 The Secretary-General's personal envoy concluded a visit to Sudan, engaging with stakeholders to support an inclusive peace process.
• 🇨🇫 In the Central African Republic, a peacekeeper from the Republic of Congo was retrieved from an overturned armored personnel carrier, with four others still missing.
• 🇦🇫 Following earthquakes in Afghanistan, humanitarian aid has reached over 100,000 people, but severe damage to infrastructure raises concerns about waterborne disease outbreaks.
• 🇺🇦 In Ukraine, humanitarian workers and vehicles have been injured and damaged in drone strikes, underscoring a worrying trend of aid workers being targeted.

UN Operations and Global Issues

• 🤝 The UN is committed to supporting an inclusive peace process in Sudan and calls on host countries to honor the headquarters agreement regarding visas.
• 🌍 The Secretary-General hopes for a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, despite current facts on the ground moving away from this goal.
• ✈️ The UN is concerned about the volume of visa denials and threats, impacting its ability to function, and emphasizes the importance of the headquarters agreement.
• ♀️ The Secretary-General hopes his successor will be a woman, but the choice rests with member states.