#COVID-19

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for the 100-day countdown to the International Day of Peace, observed on 21 September:

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

Persistent terrorist attacks, maritime insecurity and rising political tension are just some of the backdrops against which countries of Central Africa are now battling the COVID-19 pandemic, the senior United Nations official in the region told the Security Council during a 12 June videoconference meeting, noting that 22,000 cases of the virus have already been confirmed across 11 countries.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has launched an $186 million appeal to provide lifesaving protection and assistance to refugees, internally displaced persons, returnees and host communities in the Central Sahel, The number of displaced in Burkina Faso has more than quadrupled in the past year.

Standing in solidarity with those least able to protect themselves from the COVID-19 pandemic is not only the right thing to do, but the only way the world will overcome this, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres told the Economic and Social Council, which launched a global call to action at its 2020 Humanitarian Affairs Segment, convened from 9 to 11 June via videoconference due to coronavirus-related restrictions.

More than 119,000 people hit by Tropical Cyclone Amanda in El Salvador need assistance, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund, which estimates that $2.2 million will be needed for critical sanitation, shelter and child‑protection support to over 35,000 people in shelters and impacted communities.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the virtual high-level meeting on the “Impact of Rapid Technological Change on the Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals”, in New York today:

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message on tourism, in New York on 9 June:

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks, as prepared for delivery, to the extraordinary meeting of the Global Investors for Sustainable Development Alliance, in New York today:

The United Nations is scaling up life-saving aid for north-west Syria, including health items to prepare for the COVID-19 pandemic.  In May alone, it sent 1,781 trucks from Turkey, the highest number since cross-border operations began in 2014, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports.