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

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the virtual high-level segment of the Sixteenth Petersberg Climate Dialogue, held in New York today:

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for World Autism Awareness Day, observed on 2 April:

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message on the fiftieth anniversary of the Biological Weapons Convention, today:

The General Assembly today adopted resolutions on a range of topics, from the role of diamonds in fuelling conflict to a high-level conference on Rohingyas in Myanmar, while also holding a special event to pay tribute to the 15 million men, women and children from Africa who were trafficked into slavery.

Due to the liquidity crisis affecting the United Nations, the Meetings Coverage Section was unable to cover this meeting.

Meeting today — 14 years after the start of the civil war in Syria, four months since the fall of the former regime and weeks removed from harrowing violence along the country’s coast — the Security Council heard of the need for accountability and economic recovery so that the country can move towards credible, inclusive transition.

In Ecuador, a UN team arrived on 24 March to support authorities to respond to the environmental emergency caused by a major oil spill. The spill in the Esmeraldas Province, in the country’s north-west, has contaminated key water sources, leaving half a million people without access to safe water and sanitation.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the General Assembly event to mark the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, in New York today:

The new Permanent Representative of the Dominican Republic to the United Nations, Wellington Bencosme, presented his credentials to UN Secretary-General António Guterres today.