UN Chief at St.Petersburg International Economic Forum & other topics - Daily Briefing (7 June 2019)

Briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Daily Press Briefing:
- Secretary-General in Russia
- Sudan
- Syria
- Libya
- Children
- Venezuela
- International Days
- Digital Cooperation
- Contributions
SECRETARY-GENERAL IN RUSSIA
The Secretary-General is in St. Petersburg, Russia, and spoke at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, and he said that the Forum embodies a 21st-century truth: global challenges require global solutions. No country, no organization, can do it alone, he said; we need political leaders, the business world, scientists, scholars, philanthropists and civil society to join hands in addressing threats and pursuing common opportunities.
He told the Forum’s participants that we need a global economy that works for all and creates opportunities for all, adding the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development points that way.
He underscored that we must address the global climate emergency, that we are in a race against time, he warned, and we are losing the race; yet, as global warming speeds up, political will is slowing down.
The Secretary-General met with President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation, and he also met the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov. We’ll try to get you readouts of those meetings, and the Secretary-General is returning back to New York over the weekend.

SUDAN
Turning to Sudan, I want to stress that our humanitarian colleagues tell us that they and their partners continue to provide aid in Sudan, where more than 100 people are reported to have died and 800 others have been injured in violent clashes in Khartoum and other provinces.
Most of the casualties were in Khartoum after a violent raid by security personnel on 3 June.
The Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock, has urged the Sudanese authorities to facilitate an independent investigation into the deaths and hold those responsible accountable.
There have also been reports of looting in some areas, and, on 3 and 5 June, intercommunal clashes were reported in East Darfur, leaving more than 50 people injured.
In the coming weeks, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and its partners will send a mobile team to provide reproductive health services to respond to gender-based violence in Khartoum.
Also, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today it is gravely concerned about the impact of the violence on people in need, as well as on health workers and medical facilities, noting that these actions violate international human rights law.
Healthcare workers appear to have been targeted for helping the injured, with reports of rapes [of] female health workers, destruction of mobile health clinics to treat protestors, and looting of medical equipment.
The full statement is online.
I would add that WHO and its partners have been providing emergency kits, medicines and supplies to seven hospitals in Khartoum, Bahri and Omdurman.
WHO says it plans to import 3,000 more surgical kits to cover all of Sudan and is supporting ambulance services and the transportation of medical staff and supplies.
Full Highlights: