Ukraine

On Saturday, accompanied by Pakistan’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, the Secretary-General travelled to Balochistan, Larkana and Sukkur, in Sindh Province, and met with a group of women and men who abandoned everything to help their neighbours reach safety as their houses flooded. He said he had never seen climate carnage on this scale.

The World Food Programme’s first humanitarian shipment of grain from Ukraine, delivered under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, has arrived in Ethiopia and will be distributed in the coming weeks. The shipment will support one month of assistance to over 1.5 million people who have been displaced by drought and conflict.

A large-scale influx of weapons to conflict-affected zones raises many concerns, High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu told the Security Council today, as delegates convened for the third time in three days to discuss the situation in Ukraine, with many questioning the reasoning for the debate and what it could achieve for the millions of civilians suffering under near constant shelling.

Today is the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies. This year’s theme is “The Air We Share” and focuses on the transboundary nature of air pollution, stressing the need for collective accountability and action.

Disturbing reports of Ukrainian civilians subjected to forced displacement, deportation and “filtration” camps must be independently investigated, senior United Nations officials told the Security Council today, as speakers stressed that international humanitarian law — guaranteeing protection for such individuals — still holds in times of war.

The United Nations Resident Coordinator in China today said he is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of lives and destruction caused by the 5 September earthquake in Sichuan Province. He said the Organization stands ready to assist and support the Government of China’s valiant rescue efforts.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) called today for the creation of a nuclear safety and security protection zone around the embattled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, warning the Security Council of a potential catastrophe should the facility sustain further physical assault amid reports of shelling.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the Security Council meeting on threats to international peace and security, in New York today:

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) today said that world food commodity prices dipped for a fifth month in a row. The FAO Food Price Index averaged 138 points in August, down 1.9 per cent from July although remaining 7.9 per cent above its value a year before.

In Thailand, the United Nations is helping authorities improve green technologies. The Organization is partnering with nearly 300 companies to cut food waste by up to 10 per cent.