Myanmar, Sudan, Ukraine & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (6 June 2024) | United Nations

Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Highlights:
Myanmar
Secretary-General
UNRWA
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Sudan
Central African Republic
Ukraine
Sri Lanka
International Days

MYANMAR
The Secretary-General is deeply concerned by the increasing violence across Myanmar and strongly condemns the recent attacks by the Myanmar military that have reportedly killed scores of civilians, including in Rakhine State and Sagaing Region. The latest incident targeting ethnic Rakhine in Western Myanmar, and the ongoing persecution of the Rohingya, underlines the need for protection of all communities. Indiscriminate aerial bombings and human rights violations continue to be reported in many parts of Myanmar. Those responsible must be held to account.
The Secretary-General calls on all parties to the conflict to exercise maximum restraint, prioritize protection of civilians in accordance with international humanitarian law and prevent further incitement of communal tensions and violence.
The Secretary-General is deeply concerned about the widening regional ramifications of the deteriorating situation in Myanmar and reiterates his appeal for a unified approach.
The Secretary-General urges Member States and all stakeholders to engage and support his newly appointed Special Envoy, Julie Bishop, in her efforts to alleviate the suffering and help build an inclusive Myanmar-led process towards sustainable peace, including through close cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and neighbouring countries.

SECRETARY-GENERAL
This morning, the Secretary-General laid a wreath in remembrance of the 188 United Nations personnel who lost their lives in 2023, in the line of duty.
He said that among those personnel are 135 women and men who worked for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency UNRWA, in Gaza.
That, Mr. Guterres said, is by far the highest number of our personnel killed in a single conflict or natural disaster since the creation of the United Nations – a reality we can never accept. He repeated his call for a full accounting for each of these deaths.
The Secretary-General noted that, when seeking consent of family members for the inclusion of their loved ones’ names in today’s service, we were unable to contact many of the family members of the UNRWA staff because they have either been killed or forced from their homes by Israeli military operations.
He said that he is personally devastated that despite our best efforts, we could not protect our staff in Gaza.  
And he added that, for all our fallen colleagues – in Gaza or elsewhere in the world - we recommit to continuing their essential work to build lives of dignity and hope for all.

Full Highlights:
https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/ossg...