The sixtieth meeting of the Panel of External Auditors, chaired by Gareth Davies, Comptroller and Auditor General of the United Kingdom, was held from 2‑3 December 2019 at the United Nations Campus in Bonn, Germany.  The Panel consists of the Heads of 11 Supreme Audit Institutions who are either elected or selected to conduct the external audit of the United Nations Secretariat, funds and programmes and specialized agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).  The meeting was attended by representatives from Canada, Chile, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Ghana, Philippines, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the United Republic of Tanzania as an observer.

Following are UN Secretary‑General António Guterres’ remarks at the opening of the General Assembly comprehensive midterm review of the Vienna Programme of Action on Landlocked Developing Countries:

The text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message to the Pierre Mauroy Institute Symposium, held in Paris today, is not available in English.  For the French text, please see:  www.un.org/press/fr/2019/sgsm19897.doc.htm.

Following is the text of UN Secretary‑General António Guterres’ video message for the Bali Democracy Forum:  “Democracy and Inclusivity”, in Bali today:

Following are UN Deputy Secretary‑General Amina Mohammed’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, to the inaugural session of the conference on “Sustainable Development, Sustainable Debt”, co‑organized by Senegal and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in Dakar today:

World leaders today adopted the Political Declaration of the High‑level Midterm Review on the Implementation of the Vienna Programme of Action for Landlocked Developing Countries for the Decade 2014‑2024, at the outset of a two‑day General Assembly gathering to address these nations’ special needs and challenges.

Following his statement of 23 October announcing the establishment of a High‑Level Panel on Internal Displacement, United Nations Secretary‑General António Guterres has today appointed its eight members.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said today that more pregnant women and children were protected from malaria, but accelerated efforts and funding are needed to reinvigorate the global response.  According to WHO, malaria afflicted 228 million people and killed an estimated 405,000, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa.

Following is the text of UN Secretary‑General António Guterres’ video message for today’s launch of the Global Humanitarian Overview 2020:

Following is the text of UN Secretary‑General António Guterres’ video message for the launch of the TED (technology, entertainment and design) Climate Countdown, in New York today: