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.

While stressing the importance of upholding the right to freedom of religion, speakers in the Security Council also cautioned against the dangers of using religion to fuel conflict, as they considered the situation in Ukraine.

The Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf will hold its fifty-seventh session from 23 January to 10 March.

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

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for the International Day of Education, observed on 24 January:

A report released today by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) notes that children from the poorest households benefit the least from national public education funding. According to the report, children living in poverty are less likely to have access to school and drop out sooner.

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

In Nigeria, due to continued conflict, climate change, inflation and rising food prices nearly 25 million people are at risk of hunger between June and August, if urgent action is not taken, according to a food and nutrition analysis by Nigeria’s Government in partnership with the United Nations.

The overall security situation in Yemen has remained stable, with no major escalation, and a decisive turn in the eight-year conflict remains possible, briefers told the Security Council today, as delegates voiced support for the Special Envoy’s proposal of a six-month extension of the truce.