UN Daily Press Briefing: Tajikistan, Gaza Crisis, Sudan, Myanmar, Cyprus, Ukraine

Deputy Secretary-General's Travel and Climate Action

• ✈️ The Deputy Secretary-General is traveling to Dushanbe, Tajikistan, to attend the International Conference for Glaciers Preservation.
• 🌍 She will emphasize the need to accelerate climate action to achieve the 1.5-degree target and reduce the impact of melting glaciers.
• 🤝 During her trip, she will also meet with government officials and youth groups to strengthen the UN-Tajikistan partnership and discuss SDG acceleration.
• 🗓️ Following Tajikistan, she will attend the Ibrahim Governance Weekend in Marrakech and deliver opening remarks at the Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction in Geneva.

Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza

• 💔 Heartbreaking video images from Gaza distribution points highlight the dire humanitarian situation.
• 🆘 A meaningful scale-up of humanitarian operations is essential to stave off famine and meet the needs of civilians.
• 💥 Continued bombardment and shelling have had horrific impacts, with dozens killed and injured in the past 24 hours.
• 🏫 A school sheltering displaced people was hit, reportedly killing 36 people, including women and children.
• 🚶‍♀️ Thousands continue to be displaced, with over 40% of Gaza Strip affected by displacement orders, leaving people with barely anything to survive on.
• ⚖️ Civilians must be protected, and humanitarian assistance must be allowed wherever needed, as required by international humanitarian law.
• 🏥 The number of operating health facilities is decreasing due to hostilities, attacks, or displacement orders.
• 💧 A significant amount of fuel is needed weekly for water and sanitation facilities, with a particular concern for the lack of fuel in southern Gaza.

Conflict and Humanitarian Needs in Sudan

• ⚠️ The humanitarian crisis in Sudan is deepening due to sustained fighting, displacement, and health emergencies.
• 🏘️ Artillery shelling continues to impact residential areas and internally displaced people's camps, with recent intensification of bombardments.
• 🏃‍♀️ Thousands have fled renewed fighting, scattered across localities with limited access to basic protection and services.
• 📈 A cholera outbreak in Khartoum state is worsening, with an 80% increase in suspected cases over the past two weeks.
• 🦟 Lack of basic necessities like mosquito nets, shelter, water, and sanitation is significantly increasing the risk of disease outbreaks, especially with the approaching rainy season.
• 📚 Access to education remains severely constrained, with hundreds of thousands of children losing access to learning.

Updates on Myanmar, Cyprus, and Ukraine

• ✊ A human rights report highlights the defiance of military authoritarianism in Myanmar and calls for international resolve to support democratic aspirations.
• 🕊️ The personal envoy for Cyprus is meeting with leaders to build trust and work towards achieving results on agreements by the end of July.
• 🇷🇺 The UN condemns large-scale aerial attacks causing civilian casualties in Ukraine and is concerned about reported Ukrainian drone strikes on the civilian population in the Russian Federation.
• 🚨 Attacks against civilian infrastructure are prohibited under international law, and the UN reiterates its call for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine.
• 💔 Recent air strikes across Ukraine have killed and injured civilians, with no place being safe across the country.