Before leaving Kyiv today, the Secretary-General said that, while he would keep pushing for a full-scale ceasefire, the United Nations would also keep striving for immediate practical steps to save lives and reduce human suffering, including through local cessation of hostilities and safe passage for civilian and supply routes.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres arrived in Beijing from New York on Thursday evening, 3 February.
At least 25 United Nations staff members and associated personnel – including 24 peacekeepers, 19 of whom worked for the Mission in Mali – were killed in deliberate attacks in 2021, according to the Standing Committee for the Security and Independence of the International Civil Service of the United Nations Staff Union.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, following Tuesday’s attack in Ituri province, United Nations peacekeepers are patrolling the area with reinforced troops to provide security around the Savo displaced persons site and are facilitating medical supplies and evacuations to Bunia for wounded civilians.
Following are UN Secretary‑General António Guterres’ remarks at the virtual event on the fiftieth anniversary of General Assembly resolution 2758 today:
The following statement by UN Secretary-General António Guterres was issued today:
The World Food Programme (WFP) said today that, despite numerous challenges, it has delivered food to more than a million people in the north-western and parts of southern Tigray in June and July. More than 175 trucks arrived in Tigray during the first week of August, and an additional 90 are expected in the coming days.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) reports significant job losses and deteriorated labour market conditions in Myanmar since the military takeover. ILO says employment contracted by an estimated 6 per cent in the second quarter of 2021, compared to the fourth quarter of 2020, reflecting 1.2 million job losses.
At least 14 civilians were killed in an attack by suspected combatants of the ADF on Sunday night in Bulongo village, east of Beni, the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo reported. The Mission’s Force Intervention Brigade deployed to the area yesterday.
The United Nations and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research hosted an online discussion on how to prioritize actions to recover more equitably from the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 100 participants from 60 countries attended, including those responsible for $100 billion annually in global research investments.
Following is the transcript of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ press conference, held in New York today:
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Siddharth Chatterjee of India as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in China, with the host Government’s approval.
An estimated 4.1 million girls will be subjected to female genital mutilation this year and if programmes and services stay shut for six months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that figure will reach 6.1 million by 2030, according to the United Nations Population Fund’s “State of World Population 2020” report issued today.
Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the China‑Africa Summit on solidarity against COVID-19, in New York today:
A new United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report finds that universal child benefits such as cash payments or tax transfers — crucial to fighting child poverty — are only available in 1 out of 10 countries. Officials say that they are needed now more than ever amid the economic fallout of COVID-19.
In Bangladesh, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) confirmed today that a 71-year-old Rohingya man is the first refugee in the Cox’s Bazar camp to die from COVID-19 and some 30 other people have tested positive so far, yet the numbers are likely higher as testing is ramping up.
More than one in six young people have stopped working since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Labour Organization (ILO) said today. The latest ILO analysis of coronavirus’s impact on the labour market notes that those youth who remain employed have seen their working hours cut by 23 per cent.
The World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Global Vaccine Alliance, warned today that COVID-19 is disrupting routine vaccination efforts around the world, putting about 80 million children under the age of one at risk of diseases including diphtheria, measles and polio.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports that the voluntary repatriation of registered Afghan refugees in Pakistan has been suspended and it has closed several repatriation centres until further notice due to the Government’s precautionary steps to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
Food prices around the world are at their highest levels in five years, the food price index from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says. According to FAO, prices rose for the third consecutive month in December, with vegetable oil, sugar, dairy and cereals among the commodities driving up world food prices.
