Children

World leaders announced today over $826 million to Education Cannot Wait, the United Nations global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises, to support the education of millions of girls and boys living in crises.

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) today reported a sharp increase in violence in the country at the end of 2022. In its quarterly report, the Mission said that the number of civilians harmed increased by 87 per cent, compared to the same period in 2021.

With cycles of conflict becoming more intense, frequent and complex, the global community must prioritize risk assessments that raise red flags about potential violence against children, senior officials told the Security Council today, as members took stock of progress made in implementing their “children in armed conflict” agenda.

The United Nations continues to mobilize emergency teams and relief operations in response to the earthquake that hit Türkiye and Syria. A Disaster Assessment and Coordination Team is supporting the coordination of the International Urban Search and Rescue Operations and assisting with situational and humanitarian needs analysis.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) today released a report which says that fewer victims of trafficking are being identified even as the COVID-19 pandemic and other crises are increasing vulnerabilities to exploitation.

In Lebanon, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) donated 1,000 cholera testing kits, administered over 900,000 oral cholera vaccines and provided refrigerators and solar panels to ensure continuous access to electricity in support of the Ministry of Public Health’s efforts to combat the cholera outbreak which began in October.

A report released today by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) notes that children from the poorest households benefit the least from national public education funding. According to the report, children living in poverty are less likely to have access to school and drop out sooner.

The Secretary-General has extended the mandate of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon from 1 March until 31 December to complete non-judicial residual functions and ensure its orderly closure. Mandated to conduct the trials of those accused of carrying out the 14 February 2005 attacks in Beirut, its work is coming to an end.

In two separate reports released today, the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation said that approximately 5 million children died before their fifth birthday and another 2.1 million children and youth lost their lives in 2021.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report that the ozone layer is on track to recover within four decades.