The sixty-eighth United Nations Civil Society Conference kicked off in Salt Lake City, Utah, today under the theme “Building Inclusive and Sustainable Cities and Communities”.  Up to 5,000 representatives of civil society from more than 100 countries will take part, with about 40 per cent being under the age of 32 years.

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to the sixty-eighth United Nations civil society conference, taking place in Salt Lake City, United States, from 26 to 28 August:

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to the international conference on “Forty Years of Afghan Refugees Presence in Pakistan:  A New Partnership for Solidarity”, taking place in Islamabad from 26 to 27 August:

The establishment of a new transitional Government in Khartoum on 17 August creates an opportunity to restore long-term stability to Darfur, senior United Nations and the African Union officials told the Security Council today, as the two organizations consider the future of their joint mission in that western region of Sudan.

Today is International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition.  According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), this observance is intended to inscribe the tragedy of the slave trade in the memory of all peoples.

Experts working to negotiate a new treaty on biodiversity in ocean areas beyond national jurisdiction today deliberated ways to govern marine genetic resources — namely, materials of real or potential value — as well as the specific types of resources to be regulated and the sharing of benefits arising from them.

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

The recent collapse of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty cannot become the catalyst for renewed and unconstrained competition in missile development, acquisition and proliferation, the United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affairs told the Security Council today.

Speakers at the ongoing negotiations for a new treaty on biodiversity in ocean areas beyond national jurisdiction agreed today that a State party to the instrument — rather than the proponent of a planned activity — should determine the need to conduct environmental impact assessments.

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) today said that the Myanmar has conveyed to Bangladesh’s Government the names of 3,450 Rohingya refugees who have been cleared for return to Myanmar’s Rakhine State.  UNHCR called Myanmar’s engagement a positive step in affirmation of the right to return of Rohingya refugees.