Environmental issues and sustainable development

United Nations Children’s Fund Representative (UNICEF) in Nigeria Peter Hawkins calls on those responsible for the mass abduction of girls from a State-run school in Zamfara to release them immediately and for the Government to take steps to ensure their safe release and the safety of other schoolchildren in the country.

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

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Ligia Noronha of India as Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the New York Office of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The United Nations team, led by Resident Coordinator Stefan Priesner, is helping authorities in Malaysia launch a national COVID-19 vaccination programme.  More than 500,000 people have registered to receive the vaccine, which aims to reach 80 per cent of the population, 24 million people, by March 2022.

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.

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 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.

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