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

The United Nations Forum on Forests concluded its eighteenth session today, approving a draft decision that its nineteenth session will be held at United Nations Headquarters from 6 to 10 May 2024 along with the draft provisional agenda for that session, sending both texts to the Economic and Social Council for formal adoption following week-long discussions on topics ranging from the importance of sustainable forest management to the potential offered by wood-based bioenergy.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights today issued a fact-finding report on Mali which concluded that there are strong indications that more than 500 people were killed in March 2022 by Malian troops and foreign military personnel in the village of Moura in the Mopti region of central Mali.

For the United Nations to deliver on its mandate, Member States must pay on time, in full and without conditions, speakers stressed today, as the Fifth Committee (Administrative Budgetary) addressed the Organization’s financial situation before considering the Secretary-General’s request to allocate $391.2 million to the support account and $1.16 billion and $1.28 billion for two peacekeeping missions in Africa for the 2023/24 fiscal year.

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to the Islamic Development Bank Annual Meeting, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia today:

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for the International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, observed on 17 May:

Thanks to dynamic investigations combined with a targeted approach, over the past six months the International Criminal Court has made significant progress in prosecuting alleged crimes against humanity committed in Libya, its chief prosecutor told the Security Council today.

In Somalia, the United Nations and the Government have just unveiled a revamped multi-donor trust fund in support of the country’s development priorities. The Somalia Joint Fund will provide flexible funding to address key challenges facing the country and its people.

As the Forum on Forests addressed its preparations for the midterm review on the effectiveness of the international arrangement on forests and the status of its Trust Fund, as well as emerging issues facing forest management, speakers today underlined the need to improve transparency, increase funding and build on the forests-energy-livelihoods nexus.

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, at the informal briefing for Member States ahead of the Economic and Social Council Segment on Operational Activities for Development, today: