The fourth round of the Libyan 5+5 Joint Military Commission talks began at the Palais des Nations in Geneva this morning, with the participation of Stephanie Williams, Acting Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya. The deliberations in this round will continue until 24 October.
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:
The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Vassily Nebenzia (Russian Federation):
Although hand-washing with soap is critical to anti-coronavirus efforts, millions of people around the world lack ready access to a place to wash their hands, UNICEF) warned today, reporting that, according to the latest estimates, only three out of five people worldwide have basic hand-washing facilities.
Welcoming today’s large‑scale prisoner release in Yemen as “an airlift of hope” for ending the suffering caused by the long conflict in the country, speakers in the Security Council today called on the Government and Houthi rebels to build on that hope to stop the fighting and negotiate a lasting solution to the conflict.
There has been a dramatic rise in major storms, drought, wildfires, floods and other extreme weather events over the last 20 years, which have claimed 1.23 million lives, impacted 4.2 billion people and caused almost $3 trillion in global economic losses, according to a report published today by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.
To mark Space Week, the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs will hold a webinar tomorrow on the KiboCUBE programme, a collaboration with the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency giving developing countries an opportunity to deploy a satellite from Japan’s module of the International Space Station free of cost.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs today said that they remain deeply concerned about the ongoing hostilities along the line of contact in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, calling on all sides to immediately end the fighting and respect international human rights and humanitarian law.
A planetary emergency is upon us, driven by the dual threats of the climate crisis and biodiversity collapse, the Secretary-General said in a video message today, to leaders who took part in the virtual Pledge for Nature. He added that we have failed to meet any of the biodiversity targets set in Japan 10 years ago.
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary‑General António Guterres:
We are devastated by the sudden passing of our long-time friend and colleague Reynaldo Naval of the Media Documents Centre. Rey proudly served the United Nations for 39 years, and we always appreciated his kindness, sunny disposition, dedication and pride in belonging to the Organization.
Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at the high‑level ministerial meeting on Yemen, in New York today:
The Secretary-General expressed concern over the number of restrictions and attacks against journalists, as many face harassment, intimidation, killing and arbitrary detention. He called on Governments to immediately release journalists detained while exercising their profession, stressing: “No democracy can function without press freedom.”
With fighting intensifying in Yemen and the threat of famine looming large as donor countries fail to deliver on their humanitarian pledges, the parties to the conflict — which flared in 2015 — must choose the path of peace and work with the United Nations to finalize a joint declaration on a nationwide ceasefire, briefers told the Security Council today.
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.
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.
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.
In Mali, human rights officials from the United Nations peacekeeping mission have gained access to President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and other detainees held by the mutineers since Tuesday. The Mission continues to closely monitor the situation and reports that Bamako remains relatively calm with no major security incidents.
