Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks, as delivered, at the Security Council meeting on the “Maintenance of international peace and security: comprehensive review of the situation in the Persian Gulf region”, today:
Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks, as delivered, at the Security Council meeting on the “Maintenance of international peace and security: comprehensive review of the situation in the Persian Gulf region”, today:
Deeply concerned about long-term conflicts, terrorism and sectarian tension in the Persian Gulf, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, expert briefers and ministerial‑level representatives called for the entire region’s security to be addressed in a coherent manner during a Security Council video teleconference meeting today.
The United Nations human rights office called today for urgent action to address the dire situation of migrants attempting to cross the central Mediterranean Sea in search of safety in Europe, and to tackle the shocking conditions they face in Libya, at sea, and frequently, upon their reception in Europe.
The recent normalization of relations between Israel and two Arab countries presents an opportunity to re-engage Palestine and Israel in negotiations towards a two-State solution to their long-standing conflict, a senior United Nations mediator told the Security Council today.
The Human Rights Council held an urgent debate on conditions in Belarus, with the High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a statement, noting the continuation of mass demonstrations and expressing alarm over hundreds of claims of torture and ill treatment while in police custody. She urged authorities to facilitate independent, prompt and impartial investigations.
A record 13.4 million people in Burkina Faso, Mali and western Niger need humanitarian assistance and protection, as fast-growing crises spread across the Central Sahel region. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that the number of internally displaced people has grown 20-fold to 1.4 million in less than two years.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) are helping the Government of Cambodia with distance learning programmes for the more than 3 million students who are out of school due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Yemen, the United Nations and its aid partners report they have distributed emergency food, hygiene kits and other essential items to over 7,600 families impacted by deadly floods and torrential rains that destroyed homes, crops and livestock in July and August. An estimated 62,000 families have been affected.
The COVID-19 pandemic will push 47 million more women and girls below the poverty line by 2021, reversing decades of progress to eradicate extreme poverty, according to new data released today by the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.
Africa Amnesty Month begins today. Linked to the Silencing the Guns in Africa by 2020 initiative, the disarmament effort is designed to reduce the flows of illicit small arms and light weapons, allowing anyone to hand in illegal weapons throughout the month of September.
The High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed deep concern over death threats against Congolese rights defender and Nobel Prize Laureate Denis Mukwege, calling for a swift investigation and action to bring the perpetrators to justice. The threats followed his condemnation of the killing of civilians in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Millions of refugees across Eastern Africa who rely on the World Food Programme (WFP) to survive will face serious hunger and malnutrition, the agency warned today, citing reduced donor funding due to the socioeconomic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. WFP needs $323 million to assist refugees over the next six months.
The recent agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates could change dynamics across the Middle East, the senior United Nations official in the region told the Security Council during a video-conference meeting on 25 August.
Fighting in Afghanistan’s Kunduz Province has displaced 52,000 people since 16 August following attacks by a non-State armed group and responsive strikes by national security forces. A surge of United Nations staff is under way to boost humanitarian capacity in Kunduz and a joint assessment team was deployed.
Following explosions in Beirut on 4 August, the United Nations is requesting $565 million to help Lebanon move towards recovery and reconstruction. Peacekeepers with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are also donating blood and have joined the “#UN4Beirut” initiative to clean up devastated city streets.
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) launched today its Global Forest Resources Assessment report and its first online interactive platform containing detailed regional and global analyses of forests in 236 countries and territories, enabling the agency to better respond to deforestation and biodiversity loss.
Support has gradually tilted in favour of a one-State solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict over the past decade among Palestinians due to the grim reality on the ground, a veteran researcher told the Security Council in a 21 July videoconference meeting.
The Security Council, in a 29 June videoconference meeting, announced its decision to renew the mandate of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Golan for six months until 31 December and called on Israel and Syria to fully respect the terms of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned in a new report that millions of children in Yemen could be pushed to the brink of starvation due to huge shortfalls in humanitarian aid funding amid the COVID-19 pandemic. So far, the COVID-19 response is only 10 per cent funded, as UNICEF appeals for $53 million.