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

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

The so-called “referenda” conducted by de facto authorities in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine have been held during active armed conflict in the country and cannot be called a genuine expression of the popular will, the United Nations senior political and peacebuilding official told the Security Council today, as members condemned the Russian Federation’s “sham referenda”, while others called for a return to peace talks.

Afghanistan’s future depends on mutual engagement between the Taliban and the international community, a senior United Nations official for the country told the Security Council today, as members diverged over both the merits of that assessment and the correct path towards economic recovery in the only country in the world that bans secondary education for girls.

On 15 September 2022, members of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1533 (2004) concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) were briefed by the Coordinator of the Group of Experts on the DRC in connection with the Group’s workplan for its mandate in pursuance of resolution 2641 (2022) of 30 June 2022.

The United Nations has been stepping up efforts in Cabo Verde to support authorities to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Across three islands, the Organization has supported the creation of 1,000 jobs in 24 rural communities.

The new Permanent Representative of the Gambia to the United Nations, Lamin B. Dibba, presented his credentials to UN Secretary-General António Guterres today.

The new Permanent Representative of Guinea-Bissau to the United Nations, Samba Sane presented his credentials to UN Secretary-General António Guterres today.

On 26 September 2022, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 2140 (2014) approved the addition of the entries specified below to its Sanctions List of individuals and entities subject to the measures imposed by the Security Council and adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations.

The new Permanent Representative of Guatemala to the United Nations, Carla María Rodríguez Mancia, presented her credentials to UN Secretary-General António Guterres today. She is the first Guatemalan woman to hold this post.