NEW YORK, 7 August (Department of Political Affairs) — The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN) convenes its thirtieth session on the 7 and 18 August, as well as the eleventh United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names (UNCSGN) from 8 to 17 August, to celebrate their fiftieth-year anniversary of conferences at Headquarters.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat today announced the appointment of Lieutenant General Leonard Muriuki Ngondi of Kenya as Force Commander for the African Union‑United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID).  He succeeds Lieutenant General Frank Mushyo Kamanzi of Rwanda, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his dedication and effective leadership as head of UNAMID’s military component.

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

Ten years after the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, progress has been made in terms of the formal recognition of indigenous peoples in several countries, but they overwhelmingly continue to face discrimination, marginalization and major challenges in enjoying their basic rights.

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

Aid workers in Iraq are preparing to bring water, hygiene, sanitation, food and emergency medical care to those in need ahead of the anticipated military campaign to retake the Da’esh-held town of Telafar, some 60 kilometres west of Mosul.  Some 60,000 people are believed to remain trapped in the city and its environs.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message to the Peace Ceremony in Hiroshima, Japan, today:

The Security Council today further strengthened its sanctions regime against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, condemning in the strongest terms that country’s ballistic missile launches and reaffirming its decision that Pyongyang shall abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programmes in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner.

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) released its annual report today which says that, after two years of economc contraction, all countries in the region except Venezuela, Saint Lucia and Suriname will record positive, though still low, growth this year.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Amr Abdellatif Aboulatta (Egypt):