This is the News in Brief from the United Nations.

Aid access into Gaza is ‘overwhelming priority’ says UN relief chief

Every effort continues to be made by the UN and partners to get aid supplies into Gaza following the Israeli order to evacuate the north of the enclave, the UN’s emergency relief chief said on Monday.

“History is watching,” Martin Griffiths told UN News in Geneva, highlighting the desperate situation facing around one million Gazans uprooted in the last week, after the Israeli military warned of an imminent offensive following the deadly 7 October attack on Israel by militant group Hamas.

“Aid access is our overwhelming priority. And we are in deep discussions hourly with the Israelis, with the Egyptians, with the Gazans about how to do that,” he told us, adding that he was optimistic about hearing “some good news” soon that a solution could be found to the political impasse which has prevented aid convoys crossing from Rafah into southern Gaza.

The top UN aid official was speaking before heading to the Middle East where he’ll be working with diplomats to secure access, with no ceasefire between Israel or militant group Hamas yet in place.

Sudan: UN expert warns of child recruitment by armed forces

An independent UN human rights expert on Monday expressed concern about the increased risk of recruitment and use of children by armed forces and armed groups in Sudan, as the months-long war between rival militaries continues.

Siobhán Mullally, UN Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, said unaccompanied children and children from poor families have reportedly been targeted by the Rapid Support Forces militia in the outskirts of the capital Khartoum and elsewhere.

They’ve forcibly recruited women and children especially, she warned. 

Girls have also reportedly been abducted from Khartoum to Darfur for sexual exploitation, including sexual slavery.

Ms. Mulally said the deteriorating humanitarian situation and lack of access to food, make children, especially unaccompanied and separated children on the streets, “easy targets”.

She warned that recruitment of children by armed groups for any form of exploitation – including in combat roles – is a gross violation of human rights, a serious crime and a violation of international humanitarian law.”

FAO calls for action to bridge ‘green social divide’ in cities

Urban forests, trees and green spaces play a pivotal role in enhancing the quality of city living, but their benefits are still not equally accessible to all, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in a new report on Monday.

Launched at the 2nd World Forum on Urban Forests in Washington DC, Urban forests: a global perspective warns that action is needed to make urban greening more equitable in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals global goals, especially given the growing threat posed by accelerating climate change. 

Around two-thirds of the world’s population is projected to be living in urban areas by 2050, which means governments and planning authorities need to make sure everyone, no matter their socio-economic status, has access to the many benefits trees and green spaces provide” said Zhimin Wu, Director of FAO’s Forestry Division.

He said despite many initiatives which show cities are striving to be more inclusive with equitable green space, “we still have some way to go to bridge the green social divide.”

Pauline Batista, UN News.