At least 25 United Nations staff members and associated personnel — one civilian and 24 peacekeepers, including two women peacekeepers — were killed in deliberate attacks during 2021, according to the Standing Committee for the Security and Independence of the International Civil Service of the United Nations Staff Union.
The Independent Audit Advisory Committee of the United Nations held its fifty-sixth session from 7 to 10 December 2021. Due to the ongoing challenges associated with the pandemic, the meetings were held virtually. The session was presided over by the Chair, Janet St. Laurent. All the other members of the Committee, namely Agus Pramono (Vice-Chair), Dorothy Bradley, Anton Kosyanenko, and Imran Vanker, were in attendance.
The sixty-first meeting of the Panel of External Auditors, chaired by Girish Chandra Murmu, Comptroller and Auditor General of India, was held from 6 to 7 December as a hybrid session hosted from the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
United Nations officials in Myanmar report worsening humanitarian conditions due to conflict, political instability and COVID-19 since the military seized control of the Government in February. More than 230,000 people have been displaced since then, with food running desperately short in some host communities.
The United Nations Department of Peace Operations announced that Superintendent Sangya Malla of Nepal, currently serving in the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), will be named the 2021 United Nations Woman Police Officer of the Year. Superintendent Malla will be presented the award by United Nations Secretary‑General António Guterres at a virtual ceremony on 9 November.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched a new crisis response initiative in Afghanistan, known as ABADEI, as part of efforts to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe. Among other things, it provides grants to small businesses, cash-for-work projects and support to marginalized individuals.
Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at the United Nations Day concert, held today:
Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for United Nations Day, observed on 24 October:
Today marks three years since the death of former Secretary-General Kofi Annan. As the current Secretary-General said, Kofi was one-of-a-kind, a man who embodied United Nations values. Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said that, on this day three years ago, the world lost one of its moral voices.
The United Nations and the Russian Federation held the Seventh Annual Aviation Talks on 21 and 22 July as part of the official business programme of the International Aviation and Space Salon MAKS-2021.
