Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for the launch of the International Year of Sustainable Mountain Development, today:

In Haiti, violent clashes between gangs in the capital have displaced several hundred people and preliminary data indicates at least 20 civilian deaths, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports.  United Nations agencies are helping the Government to assess emergency needs in impacted areas.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and United Nations Environment Programme expressed grave concern today over the arrest, detention and sentencing of four environmental human rights defenders in Viet Nam on charges of tax evasion and urged Vietnamese authorities to ensure environmental advocates can operate freely.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for the International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace, observed on 24 April:

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for International Mother Earth Day, observed on 22 April:

Following is the text of UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s video message to the United Nations Columbia event to highlight the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, in New York today:

The United Nations takes note of the decision by Yemen’s President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi to irrevocably delegate his full powers to a newly formed Presidential Leadership Council and stands ready to work with that Council and the Yemeni parties for a sustainable, inclusive settlement of the conflict.

Following is the text of UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s video message for the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace:  “The Role of Sport in Combating Climate Change”, via UN YouTube and WebTV.un.org, today:

Humanitarian needs across the Sahel region are at unprecedented levels due to escalating conflict, climate change, rising food insecurity and record-high food prices, United Nations officials report, saying that more than 30 million men, women and children in the Sahel will need assistance and protection in 2022.

The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) has launched an investigation following reports that civilians were killed during clashes last week between the national armed forces and militants in Mourrah, about 400 kilometres north-east of Bamako, the capital.