Trade and development

Following is the text of UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s video message to the opening ceremony of the Africa Trade and Investment Forum of the Africities Summit in Kisumu, Kenya, today:

Following is the text of UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s video message to the opening session of the Africities Summit in Kisumu, Kenya, today:

In Tajikistan, the United Nations is mobilizing $40 million to help authorities address the needs of over 14,000 refugees and asylum seekers, nearly all of them from Afghanistan.  The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is coordinating the effort, with over 30 humanitarian and development partners.

Following are UN Secretary‑General António Guterres’ remarks to the opening ceremony of the fifteenth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD 15), today:

Following is the text of UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s video message to the United Nations Trade and Development Board today:

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, following consultations with the Chairpersons of the regional groups of Member States, requested the General Assembly to confirm Rebeca Grynspan of Costa Rica as the next Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).  The General Assembly confirmed the nomination on 11 June 2021.

Despite a decline in the numbers of migrants arriving in Europe via the central Mediterranean route in recent years, hundreds — including at least 632 so far in 2021 — continue to die, finds a new report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Office, which cites risks created by policy decisions.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that in Niger’s western Tillabery region, 10,000 people have fled their homes since 14 May, following attacks by non-State armed groups in the Anzourou district, near the border with Mali.  The number of internally displaced persons in Tillabery has nearly doubled in 18 months to 102,000.

From Madagascar, the United Nations is issuing a flash appeal for $76 million to support more than 1 million people in the south who face a potentially life-threatening lack of food, nutrition, water and sanitation, and health assistance due to the region’s worst drought in 10 years coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Asia, a strong monsoon season has caused floods and landslides over the past week, killing hundreds of people, displacing millions and destroying infrastructure.  The United Nations and aid partners are supporting Government-led responses in several countries despite COVID-19-related logistical challenges.