The UN Charter “brought rules and hope to a world in ruins”, Secretary-General António Guterres told a virtual ceremony, commemorating 75 years since the Organization’s foundational text was signed. Adopted by Member States as the Second World War was coming to a close, the UN chief noted that the world today was marking the milestone anniversary “as global pressures are spiraling up”. The Charter was signed in San Francisco on 26 June 1945 and came into force on 24 October 1945. 

Jobs, livelihoods and the well-being of workers, families and businesses across the globe, continue to take a hit from the COVID-19 pandemic; with micro, small and medium enterprises in particular, suffering the dire economic consequences, according to a new policy brief. “The COVID-19 pandemic has turned the world of work upside down”, said Secretary-General António Guterres. “Every worker, every business and every corner of the globe has been affected. Hundreds of millions of jobs have been lost”.

Managing the digital divide better, has become “a matter of life and death” for people unable to access essential healthcare information during the COVID-19 pandemic, UN Secretary-General António Guterres tells a virtual high-level meeting on rapid technological change.

“We need global solidarity to ensure that every person, everywhere, has access”, Secretary-General António Guterres said in a video message to the Global Vaccine Summit, convened to find and fund collective solutions for COVID-19-related vaccines and to strengthen routine immunization commitments and resources for other preventable diseases. 

To honour the more than 3,900 women and men who have lost their lives under the UN flag since 1948, Secretary-General António Guterres laid a wreath at the Peacekeepers’ memorial on Friday, International Day of UN Peacekeepers. “Every day, our peacekeepers continue to protect vulnerable local populations, support dialogue and implement their mandates while fighting COVID-19”, said the UN chief. “They are doing everything they can to be an integral part of the solution to this crisis while keeping themselves – and the communities they serve – safe”.