The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Yamazaki Kazuyuki (Japan):

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, observed on 7 April:

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

In the Gambia, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today raised concerns on the proposed repeal of the ban on female genital mutilation in the country, highlighting the proposal as a grave violation of human rights and significant setback in the global fight against gender-based violence.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Robert Petit of Canada as Head of the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism to Assist in the Investigation and Prosecution of Persons Responsible for the Most Serious Crimes under International Law Committed in the Syrian Arab Republic since March 2011.

The Commission on the Status of Women met this afternoon to conclude its sixty-eighth session. The Commission adopted its report on the work of the session, then suspended the meeting to resume at a later date.

The spread and proliferation of weapons — including in the Ukraine conflict — always spurs the danger of escalation, briefers warned the Security Council today, while its members sparred over the transparency and source of the threat of arms transfers in that ongoing regional crisis.

The Security Council today failed to adopt a resolution that would have determined the imperative of an immediate and sustained ceasefire in Gaza due to a veto cast by two permanent members of the Council — China and the Russian Federation — while some speakers criticized the text for being ambiguous and lacking attribution to the Israeli authorities in several key areas.

The Commission on the Status of Women met this morning to continue its sixty-eighth session, holding an interactive dialogue on the emerging issue “Artificial intelligence to advance gender equality: challenges and opportunities”.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Yamazaki Kazuyuki (Japan):