Disarmament

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary‑General António Guterres:

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that following unprecedented floods in Sudan, affecting 875,000 people, a secondary health emergency has put 4.5 million at risk of vector-borne diseases.  Efforts are now addressing supply needs, amid funding shortages in the Humanitarian Response Plan.

The Nobel Committee has awarded this year’s Peace Prize to the United Nation World Food Programme (WFP).  The Secretary-General congratulates David Beasley, WFP’s Executive Director, as well as the agency’s entire staff.  The Programme is on the frontlines of food insecurity, serving the most vulnerable of the world.

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message on the fortieth anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, today:

Despite some of its work remaining curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is pressing forward with efforts to verify the destruction of Syria’s stockpiles and production facilities, the senior United Nations disarmament official told the Security Council today, as members diverged sharply over procedural matters.

The Office for Disarmament Affairs launched a new website today featuring the latest version of the United Nations Disarmament Yearbook.

The United Nations human rights office called today for urgent action to address the dire situation of migrants attempting to cross the central Mediterranean Sea in search of safety in Europe, and to tackle the shocking conditions they face in Libya, at sea, and frequently, upon their reception in Europe.

The world must return to the path of nuclear disarmament towards strengthening global security and diffuse a looming arms race among nations with atomic arsenals, the Secretary‑General told the General Assembly at a high‑level meeting commemorating and promoting the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at the High‑Level Plenary Meeting to Commemorate and Promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, held today:

Mayerlín Vergara Pérez from Colombia is the 2020 laureate of the Nansen Refugee Award, the UN refugee agency announced today.  The Caribbean Regional Coordinator for the Renacer Foundation has spent more than two decades helping the non-profit pursue eradication of sexual exploitation and abuse of children and adolescents.