Public information

The United Nations Secretary-General has appointed 10 high-level and eminent persons to serve on his inaugural Internet Governance Forum Leadership Panel.

Today marks five years since the Minamata Convention on Mercury entered into force. The Convention protects human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) administers the agreement, which has 137 parties.

The Secretary-General expressed his concern about legal actions being carried out against justice officials in Guatemala.  He is also following recent developments regarding the arrest of José Rubén Zamora, a journalist and founder of a newspaper that has played an important role in exposing corruption.

Holocaust denial and distortion on social media remains a significant cause of concern, finds a new report released by the United Nations Department of Global Communications and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), with the support of the World Jewish Congress.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the Security Council high-level debate on United Nations Peacekeeping Operations:  The Key Role of Strategic Communications, in New York today:

The Acting Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine today condemned the deadly attack on Chasiv Yar in Donetsk Oblast on 9 July. Reports are that a municipal dormitory for vulnerable people was hit, killing at least 34 civilians, including a child. Another nine people were rescued from the debris and are now hospitalized.

In Sri Lanka, the World Food Programme (WFP) today said that 3 in 10 households are food insecure, according to its latest food security assessment.  Food inflation is alarmingly high.  This month there was a 57 per cent increase in food prices, which has crippled the population’s ability to put food on the table.

Today, on the first day of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Women’s EURO 2022, the United Nations is launching Football for the Goals, a new initiative by the Organization that provides a platform for the global football community to engage with and advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals.

On 20 June 2022, the President of the General Assembly, Abdulla Shahid, held an informal high-level event to commemorate the first International Day for Countering Hate Speech, as established by General Assembly resolution A/RES/75/309 on the “Promotion of interreligious and intercultural dialogue and tolerance in the fight against Hate Speech”.  This milestone resolution was adopted by consensus on 21 July 2021.

Following is UN Secretary‑General António Guterres’ message for the International Day for Countering Hate Speech, observed on 18 June: