Human rights

In Chad, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Thomas Fletcher has allocated $2.5 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to urgently respond to the massive influx of refugees and returnees in the east of the country from Sudan. This brings CERF's total allocation to Chad this year to $16 million.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for the International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, observed on 17 May:

Concluding its twenty-fourth session, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues sent three draft decisions to the Economic and Social Council for formal adoption, as its Chair highlighted the importance of Indigenous-led education that is liberating and not colonizing..

In the Central African Republic, the Special Representative there welcomed the decision by the leaders of the two armed groups, Return, Reclamation and Rehabilitation (3R) and UPC — Unité pour la Paix en Centrafrique — to rejoin the Political Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation, signed in 2019.

Mining companies must obtain free, prior and informed consent from Indigenous Peoples when pursuing projects on their ancestral lands, speakers emphasized at the 2025 session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues — a high-level advisory body to the Economic and Social Council. Participants also discussed how partnerships can mobilize adequate development finance for Indigenous communities.

The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues continues its 2025 annual session today.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at the opening ceremony of the twenty-fourth session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, in New York today:

The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues opened its 2025 annual session today, with speakers united in their call to protect and promote the rights of Indigenous Peoples worldwide.

Representing the largest international annual gathering of Indigenous Peoples with around 1,000 participants, the twenty-fourth session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues opened today at UN Headquarters in New York, putting a spotlight on some of the most urgent and interconnected issues facing Indigenous Peoples today.

In Sudan, a World Food Programme team successfully arrived today in greater Khartoum, where they are coordinating with local authorities to scale up assistance. WFP aims to expand aid deliveries to nearly 1 million people over the coming month, amid high risk of famine in many areas.