Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks for the Security Council high-level open debate on the impact of climate change and food insecurity on the maintenance of international peace and security, in New York today:

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for World Wildlife Day, observed on 3 March:

With the accelerating climate crisis and multiplying conflicts, over 330 million people were affected by acute food insecurity in 2023, the Secretary-General told the Security Council today, as speakers outlined strategies to break the deadly nexus of hunger, conflict and climate chaos.

The first State of the World’s Migratory Species report was launched today by the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, which is a UN biodiversity treaty. The report shows that while some migratory species listed under the treaty are improving, 44 per cent are showing population declines.

The international community’s multiple and simultaneous crises can be summarized as “inequality”, requiring a redoubling of efforts to rescue the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially in States that are struggling, delegates told the Commission for Social Development today as it concluded its general discussion.

Two years since the Russian Federation invaded Ukraine, the United Nations will remain fully committed to the latter’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity, its senior official told the Security Council today, as Moscow and Kyiv traded accusations of violating the 2014 and 2015 Minsk agreements aimed at ending the conflict in Donbas.

In war-torn Sudan, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimates that 3.5 million children are projected to suffer from acute malnutrition this year. The Agency and its partners have secured ready-to-use therapeutic foods through July and are scaling up their response to prevent a massive loss of lives.

On 31 January 2024, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 2206 (2015) concerning South Sudan held a briefing to Member States during which the Coordinator of the Panel of Experts briefed participants on the Panel’s interim report dated 1 December 2023 (S/2023/922).

On 1 February 2024, the Coordinator briefed the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 2127 (2013) concerning the Central African Republic on the Panel’s midterm report submitted in pursuance of paragraph 7 of resolution 2693 (2023).

On 6 February 2024, the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolution 2713 (2023) concerning Al-Shabaab issued its Implementation Assistance Notice (IAN) #4: “Guidance to Member States on the application of the humanitarian exemption established by resolution 2664 (2022) to the asset freeze established under resolution 1844 (2008)”.