Environmental issues and sustainable development

The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Yemen said that negotiations held in Oman over the weekend led to a significant breakthrough, where the Yemeni parties reached an understanding on releasing Mohamed Qahtan, a prominent politician who has been held incommunicado by the Houthis since 2015.

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s opening remarks for the ceremony of the first International Conference on Afforestation and Reforestation, in Brazzaville today:

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, in Astana today:

The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) reports that 311 weapons collected from former combatants were handed over to the Government on Tuesday as part of the National Programme for Disarmament, Demobilization, Reintegration and Repatriation.

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

The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) has started a joint operation with the Congolese Armed Forces to protect civilians in the Madombo and Itendey areas of Ituri Province, respectively controlled by the Zaire and CODECO armed groups.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the press on the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Report 2024, in New York today:

The World Food Programme (WFP) says its operations are being severely hindered by the escalation of fighting in south and central Gaza, as well as the limited flow of humanitarian assistance and the lack of public order and safety in the south. Despite this, WFP has reached more than 766,000 people in Gaza with food in June.

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message for the Austria World Summit, in Vienna today:

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in partnership with the Health Effects Institute, an independent United States-based nonprofit organization, today released a report that says air pollution is having an increasing impact on human health, becoming the second leading global risk factor for death.