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

NICE, FRANCE, 12 June — Regional cooperation is emerging as the cornerstone of effective ocean governance, with leaders from island nations, least developed countries and coastal States at the Ocean Conference today urging accelerated action, stronger accountability and climate-resilient solutions to protect shared marine resources and the communities that depend on them.

Attacks by Ansar Allah — often referred to as the Houthis — against Israel and subsequent retaliatory strikes on infrastructure in Yemen continue, the head of the UN presence there told the Security Council today, as he urged humanitarian, economic and political action to alleviate the crisis before it is too late.

NICE, FRANCE, 12 June — Environmental experts at this morning’s panel discussion at the Ocean Conference offered new definitions for “resilience” and “infrastructure” as they examined approaches that treat climate, biodiversity and ocean as one integrated system.

NICE, FRANCE, 12 June — Various entities in and outside the United Nations system today showcased their efforts to protect marine biodiversity, combat ocean pollution and support sustainable ocean economies during the fourth day of a five-day international conference.

A new report released today by the International Labour Organization and the UN Children’s Fund shows early 138 million children were engaged in child labour in 2024, including 54 million in hazardous work likely to jeopardize their health, safety or development. This number is 20 million children less than in 2020.

Speakers and delegates addressing a joint meeting of the Economic and Social Council and the Peacebuilding Commission under the theme “Building and Sustaining Peace in Haiti” emphasized the urgent need for international support to address the conflict-ridden nation’s worsening security situation, protect children amid escalating violence and humanitarian crisis, and curb the illicit flow of arms while advancing a Haitian-led political process.

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks at the opening of the eighteenth session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, in New York today:

The Economic and Social Council concluded its two-day management segment today with a round-table discussion under the theme “Unity in Action: Accelerating Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Implementation and Building a Better Future for All”.

The Special Committee on Decolonization continued the substantive part of its 2025 session today, hearing from a petitioner as it took up the question of Gibraltar — 1 of 17 remaining Non-Self-Governing Territories.