Press Release

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

Between 150 million and 175 million more people will fall into extreme poverty, due to the epic fallout from COVID‑19, the Special Rapporteur on the topic told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as delegates raised concerns about the plight of the world’s most vulnerable in a series of interactive dialogues.

Deeply concerned about long-term conflicts, terrorism and sectarian tension in the Persian Gulf, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, expert briefers and ministerial‑level representatives called for the entire region’s security to be addressed in a coherent manner during a Security Council video teleconference meeting today.

Following is the text of UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed’s video message on the occasion of the event “Driving Systemic Change through Governments to Better Reach those Living in Extreme Poverty”, hosted by BRAC Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative, today:

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message for the Central Sahel Conference, today:

Following is the text of UN Deputy Secretary‑General Amina Mohammed’s video message on the occasion of the Jobs Reset Summit, an initiative of the World Economic Forum, today:

The COVID‑19 pandemic is magnifying threats to the safety and fundamental rights of migrant workers and religious minorities, independent human rights experts told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as delegates engaged with them in animated virtual discussions, which spanned half a day.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks, as delivered, at the Security Council meeting on the “Maintenance of international peace and security:  comprehensive review of the situation in the Persian Gulf region”, today:

Questions around the right to free assembly, creation of an equitable world order and efforts to stem enforced disappearances — a crime that is soon to reach 1,000 cases a day — took centre stage in the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as delegates evaluated the human rights norms underpinning State relations since the Second World War.

As the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to batter the economies of developing countries, the five regional commissions of the United Nations system are crucial to fostering the multilateralism required to recover and pursue the Sustainable Development Goals, those speakers told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) as it met with those bodies today.