Food

There has been a dramatic rise in major storms, drought, wildfires, floods and other extreme weather events over the last 20 years, which have claimed 1.23 million lives, impacted 4.2 billion people and caused almost $3 trillion in global economic losses, according to a report published today by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ statement on the awarding of the 2020 Nobel Prize for Peace to the World Food Programme, today:

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.

To mark Space Week, the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs will hold a webinar tomorrow on the KiboCUBE programme, a collaboration with the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency giving developing countries an opportunity to deploy a satellite from Japan’s module of the International Space Station free of cost.

The United Nations is increasingly concerned about the impact of Syria’s economic downturn.  Food prices there have more than tripled in the past year, a record 9.3 million people are food insecure, and without future support, over 2 million more risk being pushed further into hunger, according to the World Food Programme.

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, at the high-level World Bank Group virtual event, held in conjunction with the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, today

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message on the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, observed today:

We are devastated by the sudden passing of our long-time friend and colleague Reynaldo Naval of the Media Documents Centre.  Rey proudly served the United Nations for 39 years, and we always appreciated his kindness, sunny disposition, dedication and pride in belonging to the Organization.

On 23 September, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director David Beasley and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director-General Qu Dongyu announced the appointment of Gina Casar of Mexico as WFP Senior Adviser at the Assistant Secretary-General level.

The Human Rights Council held an urgent debate on conditions in Belarus, with the High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a statement, noting the continuation of mass demonstrations and expressing alarm over hundreds of claims of torture and ill treatment while in police custody.  She urged authorities to facilitate independent, prompt and impartial investigations.