“Crime prevention, criminal justice and the rule of law have a key role in renewing the social contract between states and their populations,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in his address, delivered live from New York. Highlighting the importance of the 14th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in tackling challenges arising from the global pandemic, the UN chief said the forum’s agenda this year targets the responses needed to strengthen crime prevention and criminal justice in the current crisis.

 Secretary-General António Guterres received his second COVID-19 vaccine shot at the Morris Academy for Collaborative Studies in the Bronx, New York. He has repeatedly called for the vaccines to be "a global public good", accessible to all people, everywhere. UN staffers at UN Headquarters are waiting their turn for the vaccine based on the local rollout plan, and Mr. Guterres is among the first in the Big Apple-based UN family to receive a jab, based on his eligibility - he's over the standard UN retirement aged of 65.

The official return of the United States to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change represents good news for the country and the world, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said during a virtual event to mark the occasion. The US, under the Trump administration, withdrew from the landmark treaty to curb global warming but President Joseph Biden reversed the decision when he assumed office in January. “For the past four years, the absence of a key player created a gap in the Paris Agreement; a missing link that weakened the whole”, Mr. Guterres said.

Addressing a virtual meeting on the equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, Secretary-General António Guterres described the goal of providing vaccines to all as “the biggest moral test before the global community”, underlining that everyone, everywhere must be included. “Defeating COVID-19, now that we have begun to have the scientific capacity to do so, is more important than ever”, he said.

Elections this year in the Occupied Palestinian Territories will be “a crucial step” towards Palestinian unity, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said. Addressing the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, the UN chief said the vote will give renewed legitimacy to national institutions in Palestine, including a democratically elected Parliament and Government. “Elections are a vital part of building a democratic Palestinian State founded on the rule of law with equal rights for all. The Committee’s support to these efforts will be crucial”, he added.