At least 32 United Nations peacekeeping personnel — 28 military and four police, including one woman police officer — were killed in deliberate attacks in 2022, the United Nations Staff Union said today.

In Lebanon, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) donated 1,000 cholera testing kits, administered over 900,000 oral cholera vaccines and provided refrigerators and solar panels to ensure continuous access to electricity in support of the Ministry of Public Health’s efforts to combat the cholera outbreak which began in October.

On behalf of the Secretary-General, the Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed; the Executive Director of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), Sima Bahous; and the Assistant Secretary-General of the Department of Political, Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations, Khaled Khiari, completed a four-day visit to Afghanistan to appraise the situation, engage de facto authorities and underscore United Nations solidarity with the Afghan people.

In Madagascar, the United Nations team led by Resident Coordinator Issa Sanogo reports it has aided 53,000 households and farmers impacted by ongoing drought in the south by providing over 30 water tanks and constructing irrigation channels. The World Food Programme is distributing food and cash to over one million people.

​​​​​​​Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message on the occasion of the Chinese Lunar New Year 2023, observed on 19 January:

In the Central African Republic, the United Nations peacekeeping mission there launched a countrywide campaign on 16 January to promote efforts to protect civilians and to build confidence between the internal security forces and the population.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at the World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland, today:

Following the recommendation of the Secretary-General, after consultation with Member States, the General Assembly confirmed Inger Andersen of Denmark as Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) for a further four-year term beginning on 15 June 2023 and ending on 14 June 2027.

Voting by secret ballot, the General Assembly today elected Inger Andersen (Denmark) — on the nomination of the Secretary-General — as Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) for a second term of four years, commencing on 15 June 2023 and ending on 14 June 2027, following the defeat of a request to the Secretary-General to invite Member States to present candidates for that position.

The international community’s immediate priority in the Occupied Palestinian Territory must be reversing the trends that marked 2022 as one of the deadliest years in recent history, the United Nations senior official working to end the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict told the Security Council today as it held its regular open debate on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question.