SC on Syria: The SC condemned “in the strongest terms” this morning the terrorist attacks which took place on Wednesday in Aleppo, causing over 48 deaths and leaving more than a hundred civilians injured. In a press statement, the SC noted that Jebhat al-Nusra – an Islamist militant group affiliated with Al-Qaida – was responsible for the attacks and reaffirmed their commitment to combatting terrorism as a Council.
Myanmar: UNHCR announced today that four months after violence erupted in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, people still continue to leave the country seeking assistance. There are currently some 75,000 uprooted people in camps in Rakhine, up from an initial government estimate of 50,000 shortly after the unrest broke out in early June.
Education: In honor of World Teacher’s Day, the heads of UNESCO, UNICEF, UNDP, and ILO announced that some 1.7 million more teachers are needed to achieve universal primary education by 2015, the second of the eight MDGs. In a joint statement, the agency heads called for “the creation of supportive teaching environments, adequate teacher training and safeguards for the rights of teachers.”
Anti-Homosexuality: In response to Serbia’s recent prevention of an LGBT parade and the adoption of a draft law criminalizing any reference to homosexuality in the media or public domain in Ukraine today, OHCHR issued statements in support of the LGBT community. To Serbia, the High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a statement urging the government to do all they can to protect the rights of LGBT individuals and the Spokesperson expressed his concern over the “discriminatory” law in Ukraine.
Next week at the UN:
Saturday, October 6: The SG travels to Paris to attend the World Forum for Democracy and to meet with the President.
Tuesday, October 9: The SC will meet on MINUSTAH and Sierra Leone.
Thursday, October 11: The first International Day of the Girl Child; Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, head of UNFPA, and others will launch a report on child marriage.