The activities of armed groups in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo present a grave threat to efforts to improve national security and regional stability, the top United Nations official in the country told the Security Council today, stressing the need for a comprehensive political strategy to address the conflict’s structural causes.

There can be no atonement if there is no repair, the keynote speaker during the General Assembly’s annual event commemorating the victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade said today, as many speakers joined the growing calls for reparations to the descendants of human beings bought and sold as chattel for generations.

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

The United Nations remains concerned about reports of continued tensions in and around Nagorno-Karabakh.  All efforts must be made to ensure full respect for the ceasefire and full implementation of agreed commitments.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at the General Assembly event marking the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, in New York today:

Humanity continues to do more harm than good to nature, with the planet facing multiple existential threats requiring urgent corrective action, speakers and panellists today told the Preparatory Committee for “Stockholm+50:  a healthy planet for the prosperity of all — our responsibility, our opportunity”, the international environmental conference scheduled for 2 and 3 June 2022 in Stockholm, Sweden.

“Visible” consensus has emerged around several aspects of efforts to establish a functional transitional Government in Sudan, the senior United Nations official in that country told the Security Council today.

Despite implementation of power-sharing provisions of the 2020 Juba Peace Agreement, the Security Council heard today that slow realization of that accord overall — in large part due to insufficient financial support by donor countries — along with continuing intercommunal tensions are complicating the peace process in Sudan, as the head of the sanctions committee for that country presented his quarterly update.

(Based on information provided by the Protocol and Liaison Service)

The new Permanent Representative of Rwanda to the United Nations, Claver Gatete, presented his credentials to UN Secretary-General António Guterres today.

Before his latest appointment, Mr. Gatete held Cabinet positions in his country’s Government, serving most recently as Minister for Infrastructure beginning in 2018.  He was the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning from 2013.

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