Afghanistan

The Secretary-General is concerned at reports of increased tension and violence in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast of Tajikistan, including reported loss of life. He calls for restraint and for all efforts to be made to resolve the current situation by peaceful means. The United Nations will continue to monitor the situation closely.

Jayathma Wickramanayake, the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, and The Body Shop, launched a campaign today that seeks to get young voices into the halls of power.  The campaign, “Be Seen, Be Heard”, seeks to create long-term structural changes that will make decision-making more inclusive of young people and ensure their participation in political life.

Senegal’s armed forces were approved today to receive funding from the Elsie Initiative Fund to assess barriers to the participation of women in United Nations peace operations.  Senegal is the sixteenth largest troop-contributing country and has 987 personnel deployed as of February 2022, of whom 38, or 3.8 per cent, are women.

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 Linda Thomas-Greenfield (United States):

The following Security Council press statement was issued on 22 April by Council President Barbara Woodward (United Kingdom):

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and United Nations Environment Programme expressed grave concern today over the arrest, detention and sentencing of four environmental human rights defenders in Viet Nam on charges of tax evasion and urged Vietnamese authorities to ensure environmental advocates can operate freely.

The following statement was issued by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

Over 1 million children in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi have received one or more doses of the world’s first malaria vaccine thanks to a pilot programme coordinated by the World Health Organization.  The agency estimates that, if widely deployed, the vaccine could save the lives of an additional 40,000 to 80,000 children annually.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Barbara Woodward (United Kingdom):