5 June 2017 – Some 100,000 children remain in extremely dangerous conditions in western sections of Iraq’s Mosul city as fighting between Government and terrorist forces continues, the United Nations children’s agency today reported, warning that “children’s lives are on the line.”

“We are receiving alarming reports of civilians including several children being killed in west Mosul,” said Peter Hawkins, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Representative in Iraq, in a statement, noting that boys and girls are being killed, injured and used as human shields as the fighting intensifies by the hour.

An estimated 100,000 girls and boys remain in extremely dangerous conditions in the Old City and other areas of west Mosul, he said, calling on all parties in west Mosul to keep children out of harm’s way at all times.

“Attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure including hospitals, clinics, schools, homes and water systems should stop immediately,” Mr. Hawkins said.

5 June 2017 – With well documented physical and mental health benefits of being in nature, the theme of this year’s World Environment Day &#8211 ‘Connecting People to Nature’ &#8211 the United Nations is highlighting the vast benefits, from food security and improved health to water supply and climatic stability, that clean environments provide to humanity.

&#8220This is our environment. It is the keystone of a sustainable future. Without a healthy environment we cannot end poverty or build prosperity,&#8221 said Secretary-General António Guterres in a video message on the Day, commemorated annually on 5 June.

Pointing to land, water oceans, forests, and &#8220the air that we breathe,&#8221 the UN chief reaffirmed that everyone has a role to play &#8220in protecting our only home,&#8221 including using less plastics, driving less, wasting less food and &#8220teaching each other to care.&#8221

&#8220On World Environment Day &#8211 and every day &#8211 let us reconnect with nature. Let us cherish the planet that protects us,&#8221 concluded Mr. Guterres.

World Environment Day is the largest global day for positive environmental action. This year, the main celebrations are hosted by Canada. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) says thousands of people across six continents are joining massive clean-ups of beaches and parks, countries are protecting 1,600 square kilometres of land, and over 30 iconic landmarks, including the Empire State Building, ‘Christ the Redeemer’ statue in Rio, and Niagara Falls, will light up in green.

The Day’s theme encourages people to simply ‘get back outdoors’

The 2017 edition of the Day coincides with the opening at UN Headquarters in New York of The Ocean Conference, the first-ever high-level global meeting on conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. The Governments of Fiji and Sweden have the co-hosting responsibilities of the Conference.

The 2030 Agenda resolves &#8220to ensure the lasting protection of the planet and its natural resources,&#8221 in particular, the Agenda’s associated Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 14 and 15 focus on respectively conserving and sustainably using the oceans, seas and marine resources and on protecting, restoring and promoting sustainable use of land ecosystems.

&#8220Our entire modern life, with its skyscrapers and smartphones, stands on a delicate foundation of natural systems,&#8221 said UN Environment chief Erik Solheim in remarks on the Day. &#8220Today, these foundations are shaking, undermined by man-made climate change, deforestation and extinctions. No amount of advanced technology will save us if we destroy and pollute our natural lifeblood.&#8221

Billions of rural people around the world spend every working day ‘connected to nature’ and appreciate their dependence on natural water supplies and how nature support their livelihoods in the form of fertile soil. They are among the first to suffer when ecosystems are threatened, whether by pollution, climate change or over-exploitation.

‘Connect with nature’ by visiting an iconic UNECSO-designated site

In line with the theme of the Day, ‘Connecting People with Nature,’ Irina Bokova, the Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, invited everyone to take time out from busy lives and to visit one of UNESCO’s sites &#8211 including Biosphere Reserves, many Global Geoparks and iconic World Heritage sites &#8211 often overlying key strategic surface or groundwater resources and which bring together more than 2,000 exceptional sites around the world.

&#8220All of them employ local people and have their doors wide open to the public, because we know now this is the surest path to more inclusive and sustainable development, respectful of the boundaries of the planet,&#8221 she said, calling women and men everywhere &#8220to connect with the nature around them that gives beauty, meaning and harmony to the lives we lead.&#8221

4 June 2017 – United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has strongly condemned last night’s terrorist attacks in London and solidarity with the people and Government of the United Kingdom in the combat against terrorism and violent extremism.

&#8220The Secretary-General expresses his solidarity with the people and the Government of the United Kingdom as they fight terrorism and violent extremism,&#8221 said a statement issued by a UN spokesperson, which denounced the deadly incidents as &#8220unjustifiable violence&#8221 and also expressed Mr. Guterres’ condolences to the families of the victims and wishes the injured a swift recovery.

According to media reports, seven people were killed and dozens more injured when a van sped across London Bridge last night, ramming numerous pedestrians. After the van came to a halt, the attackers reportedly stabbed several people in the capital’s Borough Market, a crowded weekend gathering spot. The three assailants were reportedly shot by the police.

This is the third deadly incident in the UK that authorities have attributed to terrorists in as many months, following a deadly attack near the Houses of Parliament in March, and nearly two weeks after a suicide bombing outside an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester.

&#8220This is a struggle in many parts of the globe that compels the international community to join up efforts to bring to justice those who use such inhuman tactics while also protecting and promoting the fundamental values, rights and principles that terrorists so fervently seek to undermine,&#8221 the statement concluded.

3 June 2017 – Denouncing today’s deadly attack on a peaceful funeral procession in Kabul as &#8220morally reprehensible and bereft of humanity,&#8221 the top United Nations official in Afghanistan said that after a week of violence across the long-troubled country, &#8220now is the time to seek unity and solidarity.&#8221

&#8220I urge everyone not to respond to violence with more violence, said Tadamichi Yamamoto, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, expressing heartfelt condolences to family and friends of the victims, all civilians, &#8220who once again suffered indescribable loss today.&#8221

He noted that today’s attack, which reportedly killed at least seven people and wounded dozens of others attending a funeral in the Afghan capital, was &#8220conducted by those opportunistically seeking to use these very fragile moments to destabilize Afghanistan.&#8221

Mr. Yamamoto underscored that the incident &#8220follows so much violence this week across the country, in Khost, in Kabul and in other provinces,&#8221 referring to a truck explosion on Wednesday that reportedly killed nearly 100 people and wounded hundreds of others near the presidential palace and foreign embassies. Just yesterday, he urged restraint amid ongoing protests that broke out in the capital in the wake of that attack.

&#8220In the context of so much suffering, now is the time to seek unity and solidarity,&#8221 underscored Mr. Yamamoto, who is also the head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). He added that he has spoken with a broad spectrum of the country’s political leaders, highlighting the importance of unity. They agreed that working together is essential to stop the cycle of violence, he said.

&#8220Calm is now called for. Ensuring security in Kabul is an urgent priority, as this city continues to experience the highest number of civilian casualties,&#8221 he continued, reiterating that the ultimate objective in Afghanistan must be a negotiated peace.

&#8220Meaningful steps must take place now to obtain an immediate, nationwide halt to violence. I encourage all parties to enter discussions toward that end. The United Nations stands ready to help,&#8221 said the envoy.

He also urged all members of the international community to help put an end the cycle of violence and support the foundations of a lasting peace. The upcoming Kabul meeting on regional peace and security provides an immediate opportunity in that regard.

&#8220I am in constant contact with members of the diplomatic community to work together to ensure coherent support,&#8221 Mr. Yamamoto concluded.

2 June 2017 – In a single round of voting today, the United Nations General Assembly elected Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Kuwait, Peru and Poland as non-permanent members of the Security Council for the next two years.

They will fill seats to be vacated by Egypt, Japan, Senegal, Ukraine and Uruguay on 31 December. Bolivia, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan and Sweden will continue as elected Council members, completing the second year of their respective terms in 2018. All new Council members will take their seats on 1 January 2018.

The five non-permanent members were elected according to the following pattern: three seats for the Group of African States and the Group of Asia-Pacific States, one for the Group of Eastern European States, and one for the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States. All the new members met the required two-thirds majority and were elected in the first and only round of voting. In a separate by-election, the Assembly voted in favour of the Netherlands assuming the Council seat that Italy was due to vacate on 31 December. The two Member States had earlier agreed to share the two-year term, beginning on 1 January 2017, after a winner failed to emerge after multiple rounds of voting to select a candidate from among the Western European and Other States.