The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has strongly condemned the arbitrary detention of an opposition journalist in Belarus, calling it an “astonishing episode” that heralds a new phase in the campaign of repression against journalists and civil society there. 

UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Russian President Vladimir Putin have discussed the importance of renewed commitment to multilateralism during talks held on Thursday.

Just over 460 days since the first COVID-19 cases were reported in Europe, more citizens living in the region have now been vaccinated, than the number infected, and although new cases and hospitalizations are falling, “the threat remains present”, a senior UN health official said on Thursday.
 

A fresh United Nations-led bid to seek to resolve decades of tensions in Cyprus began in Geneva on Tuesday, with Secretary-General António Guterres “realistic” about the chances of making progress, his Spokesperson said.