United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed Joanna Kazana-Wisniowiecki of Poland as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Trinidad and Tobago, with the host Government’s approval. Based in Trinidad and Tobago, Ms. Kazana-Wisniowiecki will be heading the multi-country office coordinating also United Nations development operations in Aruba, Curaçao, Suriname and Sint Maarten. She takes up her post on 5 June.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is supporting the Haitian Civil Protection General Directorate in coordinating the emergency response to the devastating floods and landslides that authorities say have killed at least 42 people and impacted more than 37,000 people, including displacing some 19,000 people.

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) Assembly, in Nairobi today:

Central Africa is “richer in opportunities and resources than in challenges”, the Organization’s senior-most official in the subregion told the Security Council today in a briefing that touched on political developments and the impact of climate change on security.

Concluding its 2023 resumed session today, the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations approved its draft report for that session, recommending that the Economic and Social Council grant 167 organizations consultative status.

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

A total of 25 donors today announced contributions to the 2023 budget of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) after two young Palestinian student parliamentarians told the General Assembly Ad Hoc Committee of how urgently funding is needed to maintain access to all services including education — a rare beacon of hope amidst the ongoing crisis.

The Security Council today decided to extend the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) until 3 December 2023.

Following the recently failed launch of what the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has described as a military reconnaissance satellite, a senior United Nations official today stressed to the Security Council that diplomacy — and not isolation — is the only way forward, as she underlined that the 15-nation organ’s lack of unity and action does little to slow the Korean Peninsula’s negative trajectory.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today released its monthly Food Price Index for May, which said that world food commodity prices declined amid significant drops in quotations for most cereals, vegetable oils and dairy products.