Human rights

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

The Secretary-General welcomed the beginning of consultations between Papua New Guinea and the Autonomous Bougainville government, following a referendum on Bougainville’s political future held in 2019.  The consultations mark an “important step” in the implementation of the 2001 Bougainville Peace Agreement.

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

United Nations officials in the Central African Republic report that 300 peacekeepers have been deployed to Bakouma, one of several places where security concerns prevented the holding of elections in 2020.  They will protect the civilian population and help organize legislative elections later in May.

According to United Nations experts, southern Madagascar is experiencing its worst drought in four decades, with about 75 per cent of the population of Amboasary Atsimo district facing severe hunger and 14,000 people in famine-like conditions.  A humanitarian Flash Appeal launched in January stands funded at only 22 per cent.

An annual report released by the Global Network against Food Crises warns that the number of people facing acute food insecurity and needing urgent life- and livelihood-saving assistance hit a five-year high in 2020 in countries beset by food crises.

The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues concluded its annual session this afternoon, approving several recommendations which reflected this year’s central theme “Peace, justice and strong institutions — the role of indigenous peoples in implementing Sustainable Development Goal 16.”

Indigenous peoples — guardians of nature — must be consulted before States greenlight development projects, members of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues stressed today, as the body concluded a discussion on its six mandate areas — economic and social development, culture, environment, education, health and human rights.

Speakers in the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues today called for greater efforts to protect and revitalize native languages, as they explored actions to be taken during the International Decade of Indigenous Languages starting from 2022.

The first members of the International Organization for Migration’s emergency response team arrived in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines today to deliver essential shelter and emergency items to thousands of people forcibly displaced after the eruption of La Soufrière volcano.