Amnesty International, Palestine, Syria & other topics – Daily Press Briefing | United Nations

Highlights:
Amnesty International
Deputy Secretary-General
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Syria
U.N.I.F.I.L.
Climate/China–EU Summit
Security Council/Ukraine
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Financial Contribution 
Briefing Today
Briefing on Monday

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
This morning, António Guterres became the first United Nations Secretary-General to address Amnesty International’s Global Assembly. He told the Assembly that powerful forces are ranged against human rights – and against the international system built to protect and uphold them.
The Secretary-General said that the scale and scope of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is beyond anything we have seen in recent times. And he spoke about the level of indifference and inaction we see by too many in the international community.
The Secretary-General said that the UN’s heroic staff continue to serve in unimaginable conditions, while many are so numb and depleted that they say they feel neither dead nor alive.
He said that the United Nations stands ready to make the most of a ceasefire to dramatically scale-up humanitarian operations across the Gaza Strip, as we successfully did during the previous pause in fighting. Our plans are ready, and they are finalized, he said. He once more called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, immediate and unimpeded humanitarian access and urgent, concrete and irreversible steps towards a two-State solution.

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, will travel later today, on behalf of the Secretary-General, to attend the 2nd UN Food Systems Summit Stocktaking Moment (UNFSS+4), taking place from 27 -29 July, in Addis Ababa, co-hosted by Ethiopia and Italy. Four years since the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit, UNFSS+4 will serve as a platform to reflect on progress, strengthen collaboration, and unlock finance and investments to accelerate the transformation of food systems.
While at the Summit, Ms. Mohammed will meet with senior government officials, the private sector, civil society, youth and other stakeholders, to discuss priority actions to support food systems transformation and accelerate progress on the SDGs.
The Deputy Secretary-General will then go on to Amman, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, to chair the annual regional retreat with UN Resident Coordinators from across the Arab region, with a focus on advancing sustainable development in these countries.
Ms. Mohammed will also meet with senior government officials to strengthen the UN-Jordan partnership and discuss priority actions to support the SDGs.
The Deputy Secretary-General will return to New York on 2 August.