The United Nations Secretary-General has called on all countries to support the international treaty protecting UN staff and associated personnel, to ensure all those who carry out the vital work of the Organization have the safety they need to fulfill their mission.
The United Nations Secretary-General on Wednesday announced the appointment of seasoned mediator Jean Arnault as his new Personal Envoy on Afghanistan and Regional Issues, reflecting the Organization’s continued commitment to the peaceful resolution to the decades-long conflict in the country.
After 12 months where the world has faced “a tsunami of suffering”, the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines represents “some light at the end of the tunnel” said the UN chief on Thursday, marking the anniversary of the World Health Organization (WHO) issuing its pandemic alert.
Following an “annus horribilis” of death, disaster and despair, 2021 must be a year of transformation, Secretary-General António Guterres told the UN’s 193 Member States on Thursday.
The first multilateral nuclear disarmament treaty in more than two decades, came into force just after midnight on Friday, hailed by the UN Secretary-General as “an important step towards a world free of nuclear weapons”.
With more than two million lives now lost worldwide to COVID-19, the UN Secretary-General appealed on Friday for countries to work together and help each other to end the pandemic and save lives. In a video statement, Secretary-General António Guterres noted that the absence of a global coordinated effort has worsened the pandemic’s deadly impact.
In his first major speech of the year, the UN Secretary-General underlined the need for global cooperation to address today’s challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change.
From the Congo to the Middle East, UN icon Sir Brian Urquhart was at the “centre of formative global events”, Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement on Sunday, paying tribute to the legendary staff member who died yesterday at the age of 101.
