As senior officials from Serbia and Kosovo asserted discordant opinions regarding where the blame for regional insecurity should lie, the United Nations top official in Pristina, along with Security Council members, urged restraint amidst recent violence and called for continued dialogue, even as some questioned whether the Organization’s continued presence in Kosovo was warranted.

The participation of young people is vital in order to accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals, young delegates and high-level Government officials alike told the Economic and Social Council today as it concluded its eleventh annual Youth Forum.

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to the 2022 Economic and Social Council Youth Forum — “Youth2030:  Achieving the SDGs With and For Youth”, held in New York and virtually today:

Amidst concerns about transparency and working methods, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) approved, without a vote, a draft resolution forwarding the latest report of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations for adoption by the General Assembly.

United Nations staff in South Africa say they are working closely with national and local authorities to support regions impacted by last week’s devastating floods, including providing dignity packs, blankets, food and other necessities in Kwazulu-Natal and Eastern Cape Provinces, and working to restore access to services and Internet connectivity.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Barbara Woodward (United Kingdom):

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

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Damian Cardona Onses of Spain as Director of the United Nations Information Centre in Canberra, Australia.  Mr. Cardona assumed his duties on 20 April.

As the humanitarian situation in Ukraine continues to deteriorate — at an alarming scale and speed of displacement not seen since the Second World War — briefers and delegates in the Security Council today called for the Russian Federation to uphold their international-law obligations, cease attacks on civilians and end the war.

The number of hungry people in the Horn of Africa could soar from 14 million to 20 million by the end of 2022 without desperately needed rains and urgent humanitarian funding, the World Food Programme (WFP) warned today.  Somalia faces famine, half a million Kenyans are a step away from catastrophic hunger, and Ethiopia is already well above emergency thresholds.