"DISCRIMINATION"

Asked about protests in the Islamic Republic of Iran, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said, “We call on security forces to refrain from using unnecessary and disproportionate force and appeal to all to exercise restraint to avoid further escalation.” UNIFEED

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said, “We are not dealing with gaps – we are dealing with outright inaction and negligence in the protection of minority rights.” UNIFEED

Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO’s Director-General, said that two-thirds of the 771 million adults worldwide who lack basic literacy skills are women. UNIFEED

Ahead of the High-Level Week of the General Assembly, the United Nations’ Secretary-General said his message to the world leaders gathering in New York is clear: “Lower the temperature now, don’t flood the world today, don’t drown it tomorrow.” UNIFEED

The number of weekly reported deaths by COVID-19 has dropped by more than 80 percent since February, but last week one person died with the virus every 44 seconds, said the World Health Organization (WHO) chief. WHO

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Somalia, James Swan, told the Security Council that Somalia is facing a humanitarian catastrophe, with some 7.8 million Somalis — nearly half of the country’s estimated population — impacted by the worst drought in at least four decades, exacerbated by climate factors. UNIFEED

The high-level forum, convened by the GA President Abdulla Shahid, offered an an opportunity to the Member States and Observers of the United Nations and other stakeholders to renew their commitments to the full and effective implementation of the UN Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace, with particular emphasis on advancing peacebuilding by ensuring justice, equality and inclusion.

General Assembly adopts four resolutions, including contested text addressing justice for victims of sexual violence.

General Assembly adopts four resolutions, including contested text addressing justice for victims of sexual violence.

Regarding the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) report on China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that “human rights must be respected, and that the Uyghur community needs to be respected and may feel it belongs to the country as a whole without discrimination,” a UN spokesperson told reporters in New York. UNIFEED