Environmental issues and sustainable development

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message on World Wildlife Day, observed on 3 March:

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message marking the second anniversary of Costa Rica’s National Decarbonization Plan, today:

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration today began preparing asylum seekers in the Matamoros camp for entry to the United States as the country ends a policy that forced some 25,000 people to wait in Mexico for their immigration hearings.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ briefing to the Security Council on “Addressing climate-related security risks to international peace and security through mitigation and resilience building”, today:

The number of civilians killed and injured in Afghanistan rose following the start of peace negotiations in September, according to report released today by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the Organization’s human rights office.  The country remains among the deadliest for civilians.

Climate change is a “crisis multiplier” that has profound implications for international peace and stability, Secretary-General António Guterres told the Security Council today, amid calls for deep partnerships within and beyond the United Nations system to blunt its acute effects on food security, natural resources and migration patterns fuelling tensions across countries and regions.

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to the United Nations Environment Assembly today:

Cabo Verde is among the first African countries to receive the first allocation of COVID-19 vaccines under the COVAX facility, the United Nations team there reports. In the next few weeks, thanks to additional World Bank funding of $5 million, Cabo Verde will be able to buy vaccines for almost 35 per cent of the population.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the Munich Security Conference segment on “Priorities for Global Action”, held today:

Ten years into Syria’s crisis, humanitarian needs are deepening, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says, with an estimated 13.4 million people requiring protection and assistance, up more than 2 million people from 2020.  Nearly 60 per cent of the population is food insecure.