Environmental issues and sustainable development

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for the International Day for Biological Diversity, observed on 22 May:

Aid workers in Ethiopia report rising incidents of denial of relief cargo, and the confiscation of humanitarian vehicles and supplies, by parties to the conflict in the Tigray region.  While over 5 million people are targeted for food assistance, only about 1.8 million have been reached since late March amid limited access.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that in Niger’s western Tillabery region, 10,000 people have fled their homes since 14 May, following attacks by non-State armed groups in the Anzourou district, near the border with Mali.  The number of internally displaced persons in Tillabery has nearly doubled in 18 months to 102,000.

The new Permanent Observer for the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) to the United Nations, Alain Wilfried Biya, presented his letter of appointment to UN Secretary-General António Guterres today.

Humanitarian officials in Somalia say a “double climate disaster”, marked by drought followed by torrential rains, has killed at least 25 people in two weeks.  Warning that 2.7 million people in the country are already food insecure, they note that the Humanitarian Response Plan is currently only 19 per cent funded.

Following is the text of UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s video message for the first International Day of Argania, observed on 10 May:

The Organization released today $65 million for the humanitarian response in Ethiopia, comprising $45 million from the United Nations-managed Ethiopia Humanitarian Fund and $20 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund, as the security situation in Tigray remains volatile.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the 2021 Petersberg Climate Dialogue today:

The Forum on Forests, meeting via video-teleconference, continued its sixteenth session today with speakers discussing the progress achieved so far in launching the Global Forest Financing Facilitation Network clearing house, as well as monitoring, assessment and reporting issues.

The Forum on Forests focused on ways to better implement the United Nations Strategic Plan for Forests and its six global forest goals, particularly in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals and the upcoming fifteenth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, on the second day of its sixteenth session today.