Source: United Kingdom UK Parliament (video statements)
Youth Parliament sits today in the House of Commons. 🙋
Watch UK Youth Parliament with British Sign Language (BSL) – https://youtube.com/live/W6bETSIAFGA?feature=share
Members of Youth Parliament (MYPs) from across the UK, Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies will be debating the issues that matter to them. 🗣️
It’s a unique opportunity for young people to represent their communities and speak directly from the benches of the Commons. 💬
Learn more about Youth Parliament: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-10138/
Cyberbullying affects one in ten young people, and the threat is growing. But there are ways to fight back. UNICEF Youth Advocate Abril Perazzini knows the problem because she experienced it—and she’s taking action to advance digital rights. Joanna Herat, a Senior Programme Specialist at UNESCO, explains how governments and schools can make the world online safer for students. As the world marks the International Day against Violence and Bullying at School, UNESCO is focusing on safety in the digital era.
The Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, Martha Pobee, told the Security Council that “considerable challenges remain in achieving progress on the final status of Abyei,” including “the dynamics related to the ongoing war in the Sudan and the political uncertainty in South Sudan.”
Pobee said, “the political process between the Sudan and South Sudan on Abyei and border issues remains stalled, as it has been since the outbreak of the Sudan conflict in April 2023,” but noted that earlier this year, both parties had indicated to the United Nations Interim Force for Abyei (UNISFA) strategic review team, “their openness to resuming contact on Abyei, with United Nations and African Union support.”
This was followed by a visit of the South Sudanese Foreign Minister to Port Sudan, last month where the two countries announced their intention to reactivate cooperation agreements focusing on security and the economy.
She welcomed “these movements towards dialogue” and urged both South Sudan and Sudan “to go beyond statements of intentions, and to accelerate the implementation of existing agreements, as well as use the coordination mechanisms established to address outstanding challenges.”
Pobee said, “the war in the Sudan and the continued influx of people displaced by the conflict continues to create economic hardship for the population of Abyei.”
She said, “funding challenges have had an impact on partners’ capacity for humanitarian support,” and noted that “the Food and Agriculture Organization was forced to cease its operations in Abyei at the end of July and the World Food Programme has reduced its footprint.”
Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Western Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, said that Resolution 2797 is “significant” as it “demonstrates a renewed international energy and determined action to resolve this conflict of 50 years.”
De Mistura Spoke to reporters today (5 Nov) from Brussels via video link.
He said, “In view of the strong support and substantive mandate provided by the Security Council Resolution 2797 to the Secretary General and his Personal Envoy, our own follow up plan will be initially to call all the parties to submit proposals and suggestions in order to allow the UN to develop a broad agenda for direct or even if necessary, indirect talks on the most relevant issues.”
The Personal Envoy also said, “We shall of course, as indicated in Resolution 2797, take the 2007 Moroccan autonomy plan as a basis for these negotiations and then soon, hopefully very soon, take into account Morocco’s expanded plan as an input, as well as using Frente POLISARIO’s paper and other relevant ideas.”
De Mistura expressed “satisfaction” for the extension of MINURSO until October 2026. “This would certainly help to create an atmosphere of stability needed to accompany the future negotiations,” he concluded.
Noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Highlights:
– Occupied Palestinian Territory
– Lebanon/Israel
– Deputy Secretary-General
– Sudan/Chad
– Abyei
– South Sudan
– Democratic Republic of the Congo
– Central African Republic
– Hurricane Melissa
– Human Development
– Tsunami Awareness Day
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that the UN and our partners are reaching more people every day with more supplies and services in all areas of the Gaza Strip, despite access restrictions, bureaucratic hurdles, congestion along transit routes and other impediments.
Today, UN agencies announced the launch of an integrated catch-up campaign for routine immunization, nutrition and growth monitoring, targeting 44,000 children who’ve been cut off from life-saving services due to the war. The UN Children’s Fund [UNICEF], UNRWA, and the World Health Organization will carry out the campaign with partners, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health.
Children will receive three doses of the Pentavalent, Polio, Rota, and Pneumococcal Conjugate vaccines, and two doses of the Measles, Mumps, Rubella vaccine. The first of three planned rounds will start this Sunday and run for 10 days, with vaccinations taking place at nearly 150 health facilities and 10 mobile clinics across the Gaza Strip.
Teams have already brought into the Gaza Strip all vaccines, syringes, cold chain equipment and nutrition supplies necessary for this campaign. Over 450 health workers and support staff, as well as nearly 150 doctors, have been trained.
The agencies stress that the campaign’s success depends on the full respect of the ceasefire so that families, health professionals, and other humanitarian workers can reach vaccination sites freely and safely.
Across Gaza, the number of daily meals being served by 183 community kitchens topped 1.2 million meals on Monday, with the UN and our partners supporting that scale-up. Compared with late September, this represents an increase of more than 80 per cent. You’ll recall that we’re also providing families with food parcels and other forms of food assistance.
Humanitarians are also working to improve access to water supplies, with more than 40 partner organizations operating nearly 1,900 water points. On Monday, the UN and our partners distributed 4,400 hygiene kits, as well as 2,900 buckets and 3,700 jerrycans to people in need.
Yesterday, the UN and our partners distributed hundreds of tarpaulins and hundreds of tents across the Strip to displaced families in need of urgent shelter support. On Sunday and Monday, they provided hundreds of families with cash-voucher assistance for clothing ahead of the winter.
Meanwhile, the UN and our partners keep moving cargo into Gaza and collecting more supplies from Gaza’s crossings. Just to give you a sense of the scale of these operations, on Monday, we were able to offload over 180 truckloads of critical supplies at the crossings, including more than 1,500 metric tonnes of food. And yesterday, our teams collected about 120 truckloads inside Gaza, carrying more than 580 pallets of blankets, tents, winter clothes, hygiene items and more. They also collected over 150,000 litres of fuel and over 90 metric tonnes of animal fodder. These numbers are preliminary, and as we’ve noted before, they exclude bilateral donations and the private sector…
SUDAN/CHAD
Turning to the horrifying situation in Sudan, the UN is deeply alarmed by mounting reports of grave violations against civilians as fighting continues in North Darfur State.
OCHA reports that local volunteers have documented executions, sexual violence, humiliation, extortion and attacks, among other systematic abuses, including against people fleeing the fighting following the Rapid Support Forces’ capture of the state capital, El Fasher, last week.
The International Organization for Migration says that nearly 82,000 people have fled El Fasher and surrounding areas since October 26th, including towards Tawila, which is already hosting hundreds of thousands who have fled previous attacks, with humanitarian needs far exceeding available resources.
The UN Population Fund reports that women and girls faced rape, abduction and other extreme violence while escaping El Fasher. Other local sources report that about 1,300 people with gunshot wounds arrived in the locality of Tawila after being attacked as they escaped the city….
Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2025-11-05
Travelling across Europe should be easy, fast, and affordable. That’s why the Commission has adopted a set of new proposals to accelerate the roll-out of Europe’s high-speed rail network.
The new high-speed rail action plan aims to cut journey times and make rail a more attractive alternative to short-haul flights or long car journeys. With trains reaching speeds of 200 km/h and above, travel time between EU capitals will drop significantly.
Source: Republic of South Africa (video statements)
Remarks by Nobel Laureate Professor Joseph Stiglitz at the handover of the Report of the G20 Extraordinary Committee of Independent Experts of Global Inequality.
