The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination commemorates the Sharpeville massacre — the horrific killing of 69 people peacefully demonstrating against apartheid in South Africa. The apartheid regime was based on institutionalized racial discrimination. Thankfully, it was ultim…
I am here to report on the implementation of resolution 2401 (2018), which the Council adopted unanimously on 24 February. But I am keenly aware that I am doing so just as the bloodletting in Syria enters its eighth year. I would like to highlight just one stark fact on this grimmest of anniversarie…
Allow me, in this very important debate related to the Charter and to the maintenance of international peace and security, to convey, before reading out my statement, a personal emotion that I cannot hide.
I am deeply saddened by the terrible suffering of the civilian population in eastern Ghouta, …
I have just returned from a visit to Kuwait, which generously hosted a conference on the reconstruction of Iraq and helped mobilize critical resources. The international community showed its gratitude to the Iraqi people for their courageous victory over Da’esh. The support is a vote of confidence i…
I welcome this debate, convened by Kazakhstan, as a sign of enhanced cooperation among Member States in Central Asia and Afghanistan. I also welcome the Security Council’s continued support for Afghanistan, as demonstrated by its recent mission to the country. The entire international community has …
I am pleased to join the members of the Security Council for this timely debate, and I thank the Republic of Kazakhstan for convening it. Kazakhstan has a proud tradition of support for a world free of weapons of mass destruction and for the global non-proliferation regime. I thank President Nursult…
I thank Japan for using its presidency of the Security Council to focus on the increasingly complex drivers of armed conflict and instability. Let me also express my appreciation to the Government and the people of Japan for their hospitality
during my visit to the country last week. I would like t…
Allow me to first thank the Japanese presidency, and to thank you personally, Mr. President, for convening this meeting. I would also like to acknowledge and welcome the many Ministers and other representatives around the table, as well as the participation of the Republic of Korea and of the Democr…
I thank the Security Council, under the presidency of Italy, for convening today’s open debate on trafficking in persons in conflict situations.
Criminals and terrorists are capitalizing on and perpetuating the disorder and mayhem of conflict. To fund their crimes, they prey on the vulnerable. Thei…
I thank the Italian presidency for convening this meeting.
The word “Mediterranean” literally means “in the middle of the Earth”. Figuratively, too, the Mediterranean has found itself, since time immemorial, at the confluence of civilizations, cultures, religions, trade and migration. Developments …
I would like, first of all, to thank the Minister Foreign Affairs of France, Mr. Jean-Yves Le Drian, for the organization of this debate of vital importance concerning the question of children and armed conflict. The report (S/2017/821) before the Security Council today indicates that in 2016 childr…
I thank the French Government for initiating today’s debate, which follows the Security Council’s visit to the Sahel. I also thank the Ministers of the States members of the Group of Five for the Sahel (G-5 Sahel) for their presence today.
Allow me to pay tribute to the three Chadian Blue Helmets o…
Nine months ago, approximately 20 million people were at severe risk of famine in South Sudan, Somalia, Yemen and north- eastern Nigeria. In South Sudan, almost 100,000 people were on the verge of starvation. At that time, I expressed my deep concern to Member States in two letters calling for urgen…
I welcome this opportunity to brief the Security Council on the crisis in Myanmar.
On 2 September, I wrote to the Council urging concerted efforts to prevent further escalation of the crisis in northern Rakhine state. I am encouraged that the Council has discussed the situation four times in less t…
I thank the General Assembly for convening this important meeting on the United Nations Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons, and I congratulate members of the Assembly on their successful deliberations on the draft political declaration to be adopted this morning.
According to th…
I thank this month’s presidency of the Security Council, Ethiopia, for being such a steadfast contributor to peacekeeping. Its personnel are on the front lines in some of our most challenging missions, and we are extremely grateful for that commitment.
Today we gather to fortify this flagship Unite…
I am here in a spirit of gratitude and humility for the trust the members of the General Assembly have placed in me to serve the world’s peoples. “We the peoples” and the United Nations face grave challenges. Our world is in trouble. People are hurting and angry. They see insecurity rising, inequali…
Let me begin by once again congratulating our new President of the General Assembly, Mr. Miroslav Lajčák. He and I have had
good discussions in recent months about our shared hopes for this session. I have no doubt the Assembly is in very capable hands. His experience, his vision and his wisdom are…
Let me begin with a warm and heartfelt thank you to the President of the General Assembly at its seventy-first session, Mr. Peter Thompson. I thank you for your vision, energy and the unmistakable assertive voice that may have given some of us flashbacks to our grammar school principals. But most of…
Let me begin by thanking the Government of China for convening this meeting to focus on enhancing African capacities in the area of peace and security.
In my first days as Secretary-General, I attended the African Union (AU) Summit in Addis Ababa. I wanted to launch a new era of cooperation with th…
