Viet Nam

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and United Nations Environment Programme expressed grave concern today over the arrest, detention and sentencing of four environmental human rights defenders in Viet Nam on charges of tax evasion and urged Vietnamese authorities to ensure environmental advocates can operate freely.

The new Permanent Representative of Viet Nam to the United Nations, Dang Hoang Giang, presented his credentials to UN Secretary-General António Guterres today.

In Afghanistan, senior emergency experts from United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations called for urgent support to life-saving humanitarian action after a five-day mission to the country.  Over 24 million people – 59 per cent of the Afghan population - requires lifesaving aid, up 30 per cent from 2021.

The onset of winter — compounded by the devastating effects of the coronavirus — poses a direct threat to the health and livelihoods of Venezuelan refugees and migrants, nearly 2 million of whom have settled in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay, the United Nations refugee agency warned today.

The Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan, Alain Noudéhou, has condemned the killing on 29 October of an aid worker in the greater Pibor area, stressing that it is unacceptable that eight humanitarian workers have already lost their lives this year in South Sudan while providing aid to people in need.

Marking the twentieth anniversary of resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security, the Secretary-General told the Security Council today that the world has a choice: continue down the path of increasing militarization, conflict and inter-generational losses or work towards greater inclusion and gender equality.

The fourth round of the Libyan 5+5 Joint Military Commission talks began at the Palais des Nations in Geneva this morning, with the participation of Stephanie Williams, Acting Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya.  The deliberations in this round will continue until 24 October.

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

The new Permanent Representative of Viet Nam to the United Nations, Dang Dinh Quy, presented his credentials to UN Secretary‑General António Guterres today.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said today it is deeply concerned about the risk of further violence in Venezuela, where constituent assembly elections will be held on Sunday.  It also expressed concern that demonstrations seen as disturbing the constituent assembly elections have been banned until 1 August.