Press releases

It is a pleasure to greet the peacekeeping partners who have gathered for this event.  I thank the Government of the Netherlands for bringing us together. Three years ago, I launched the Action for Peacekeeping initiative, asking you to join me in making our operations more efficient and impactful. Together, we produced the Declaration of Shared Commitments. 154 Member States and four organizations have endorsed this roadmap and we have made progress on all fronts. I thank our peacekeepers for their outstanding service.

[scroll down for French version] Today we commemorate the life of Monsignor Oscar Romero, who was murdered for his vocal opposition to inequality, marginalization and injustice in El Salvador. We honour all victims and survivors of gross human rights violations around the world. We reaffirm and celebrate their dignity by acknowledging their experiences; by renewing our commitment to justice and remedy for them; and by pledging to do everything in our power to prevent any recurrence of such crimes.

Stephane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General Following the consultations conducted on behalf of the Secretary-General by a senior UN official, Ms. Jane Holl Lute, over the past several months, the Secretary-General intends to convene an informal five-plus-one meeting on the Cyprus issue in Geneva, Switzerland, from 27 to 29 April 2021. The purpose of the meeting will be to determine whether common ground exists for the parties to negotiate a lasting solution to the Cyprus problem within a foreseeable horizon.

Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General The Secretary-General condemns the looting of the first site, Saraf Umrah in Darfur, handed over to the Sudanese authorities following the end of the UNAMID mandate in December 2020.  At a time when community needs in Sudan are increasingly pressing, the site was intended to serve as a vocational training centre; unknown assailants have dashed that opportunity.