Press Release

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, observed on 4 April:

Political uncertainty, delays in the start of the peace process, increasing violence and the imminent full force of the COVID-19 pandemic make this a critical time for Afghanistan as it struggles to emerge from decades of conflict, the Officer-in-Charge of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) told the Security Council in a videoconference meeting on 31 March.

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

The Secretary-General supports the decision of the United Kingdom and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Bureau to delay the next Conference of Parties (COP26), which was due to be held in November in Glasgow.  As hundreds of thousands of people fall seriously ill and many die from COVID-19, the need to suppress the virus and safeguard lives is our foremost priority.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President José Singer Weisinger (Dominican Republic):

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at the launch of a report on the socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19, in New York today:

While Israeli and Palestinian authorities have shown exemplary cooperation in protecting their populations from the COVID-19 pandemic, there are no clear signs indicating a return to sorely needed negotiations towards a two-State solution, the Secretary-General’s Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process told the Security Council, which met via videoconference on 30 March 2020.

On 30 March 2020, the Security Council decided unanimously that the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) will maintain its current troop and police ceilings until 31 May 2020.

On 30 March 2020, the Security Council extended until 30 April 2021 the mandate of the panel of experts assisting the committee overseeing sanctions against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

With 10 cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Syria, including one death, the virus could have potentially devastating consequences for vulnerable communities across the country, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator told the Security Council in a videoconference meeting on 30 March 2020.

Emphasizing the importance of enhancing the safety and security of United Nations peacekeepers, the Security Council requested on 30 March 2020 that Member States which host peacekeeping missions fulfil their obligations to facilitate access and freedom of movement for the “blue helmets”, including casualty and medical evacuation.