The United Nations stands with the people of Ukraine, including more than 500,000 who crossed the country’s borders fleeing relentless attacks by Russian forces, Secretary-General António Guterres told an emergency special session of the General Assembly today, warning of potentially dire consequences for the world at large.

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video remarks at the opening of the forty-ninth regular session of the Human Rights Council, in Geneva today:

The Security Council, at its fourth meeting on the situation in Ukraine in the last week, called an emergency special session of the General Assembly in the next 24 hours at which the world body can decide whether to use armed force, when necessary, to maintain or restore international peace and security.

Meeting today amid the unfolding crisis in Ukraine, the Security Council rejected a draft resolution intended to end the Russian Federation’s military offensive against that neighbouring State.

The international diplomacy needed to spur humanitarian and early recovery efforts will be more precarious against the new backdrop of military operations in Ukraine, the top United Nations official on Syria warned the Security Council today, as he briefed members on recent developments.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Amin Awad of Sudan as Assistant Secretary-General to serve as United Nations Crisis Coordinator for Ukraine.

In Afghanistan, senior emergency experts from United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations called for urgent support to life-saving humanitarian action after a five-day mission to the country.  Over 24 million people – 59 per cent of the Afghan population - requires lifesaving aid, up 30 per cent from 2021.

The new Permanent Representative of Viet Nam to the United Nations, Dang Hoang Giang, presented his credentials to UN Secretary-General António Guterres today.

Following is the text of Secretary-General António Guterres’ video remarks to the high-level thematic debate on “Galvanizing Momentum for Universal Vaccination”, in New York today:

The Security Council today renewed the mandate of its committee monitoring implementation of a resolution that aims to prevent non-State actors from acquiring nuclear, biological and chemical weapons and their means of delivery, as Council members debated the technical nature of that renewal after its unanimous adoption.