Senior United Nations officials joined representatives of the world’s indigenous communities and Member States today as the General Assembly marked the tenth anniversary of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and explored ways to further its implementation.

While the political process in South Sudan was not dead, it would require “significant resuscitation”, the senior United Nations official in that country told the Security Council today, as it considered the recent security, humanitarian and political developments in the world’s youngest nation.

Fearing a rollback of achievements in implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, speakers appealed to Governments to uphold commitments protecting the rights of all indigenous peoples and prevent a reversal of hard-won gains, as the sixteenth session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues continued today.

In Geneva, the Secretary-General called the pledging conference for Yemen a considerable success, with more than half of the $2.1 billion appeal for the year reached.  Those pledges now needed to be translated into effective support for the people of Yemen.  Three things would ensure that:  access, access and access.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ closing remarks to the high-level pledging event for the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, in Geneva today:

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ opening remarks to the high-level pledging event for the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, in Geneva today:

The Department of Public Information, in partnership with the Permanent Mission of Austria to the United Nations, the Austrian Cultural Forum, Facing History and Ourselves, and the New York City Department of Education, will hold a multimedia presentation titled The Children of Willesden Lane from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, 26 April, in the Economic and Social Council Chamber Chamber at New York Headquarters.

The Department of Public Information was harnessing its multilingual news platforms, worldwide network of information centres and outreach efforts to communicate compelling United Nations stories to a global public increasingly accessing news through tablets and mobile platforms, its Acting Head told the Committee on Information today.

More than 25 million children between 6 and 15 years old, or 22 per cent of children in that age group, are missing out on school in conflict zones across 22 countries, according to a UNICEF report issued today.  South Sudan has the highest rate at almost 72 per cent, followed by Chad and Afghanistan.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres arrived in Washington, D.C., from New York on Thursday night, 20 April.