28 January 2018 – Hailing the partnership between Africa and the United Nations as &#8220solid, and grounded on sound principles of human rights and good governance,&#8221 Secretary General, Antonio Guterres told leaders gathered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for the African Union Summit, that with Africa in the lead, &#8220we can and will do more&#8221 to bolster successful cooperation throughout the continent.

&#8220I stand here on behalf of the United Nations system and reaffirm our strong commitment to the member states and the people of Africa,&#8221 Mr. Guterres told the 30th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU) on Sunday, adding: &#8220I strongly believe Africa is one of the greatest forces for good in our world.&#8221

The UN chief said that in just his first year in office, the Organization has entered a &#8220new era&#8221 of partnership with the AU, recalling the holding of the first UN-AU Annual Conference at the summit level, as well as the signing of two landmark framework agreements, respectively on enhanced partnership in peace and security, and, just yesterday, on implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.

Spotlighting these and other initiatives as key examples of the successful work the two organizations are carrying out across the continent, Mr. Guterres said this partnership could be further strengthened in five key areas: addressing corruption; cooperation in peace and security; inclusive and sustainable development; climate change; and international migration.

Combatting the &#8220far-reaching and devastating&#8221 impact of corruption, tax evasion and illicit financial flows, a main theme of this year’s AU Summit, &#8220requires an unimpeachable commitment to transparency and accountability,&#8221 he said, commending the decision to highlight this scourge, and offering the strong support of the UN. He also welcomed the designation of 2018 as African Anti-Corruption Year.

Specifically on international migration, the UN chief expressed that the global phenomenon not only powers economic growth, reduces inequalities and connects diverse societies but also help ride the demographic waves of population growth and decline

&#8220We must maximize the benefits of orderly migration, while stamping out abuses and prejudice,&#8221 he said, highlighting the benefits of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration for all countries.

We must maximize the benefits of orderly migration, while stamping out abuses and prejudice UN chief Guterres

&#8220I urge you to bring your moral leadership and unique experience to this important collective priority for 2018,&#8221 added Mr. Guterres.

On the peace and security sector, the UN chief expressed his appreciation to African governments for contributing troops and police to UN peacekeeping operations to help save lives and keep the peace around the world.

He, however, noted that UN peacekeeping is not the solution to all crisis situations, and said that partnership with the African Union and sub-regional organizations can be the means to address the varied contexts which necessitate peacekeeping, including peace enforcement and counter-terrorist operations.

On inclusive and sustainable development, Secretary-General Guterres expressed that the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and African Union’s Agenda 2063 are mutually reinforcing, and underscored the need to ensure sufficient means of implementation to ensure sustainable development.

But he acknowledged that while poverty elimination is a shared priority across the tow agendas, significant gaps persist, particularly with regard to industrialization, water, energy, infrastructure and the environment. &#8220We must place quality education within the reach of all,&#8221 he underscored.

In that context, he urged all UN Member States to uphold their commitments to official development assistance ODA), outlined in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on financing for development

Women’s full participation makes economies stronger and peace processes more successful UN chief Guterres

Mr. Guterres also said the international community has a role to play in combating tax evasion, money laundering and the elimination of illicit financial flows that deprive Africa of its essential resources.

The UN chief also stressed that women and young people must lead the development agenda, stressing that: &#8220Women’s full participation makes economies stronger and peace processes more successful.&#8221

He said that around the world, there is skepticism about multilateralism. But he strongly believed that moving forward together, &#8220the United Nations and the African Union can show that multilateralism is our best and only hope.&#8221

27 January 2018 – Secretary-General António Guterres and the United Nations in Afghanistan have strongly condemned Saturday’s massive vehicle bomb attack on a busy street near Government buildings in the Afghan capital, Kabul, which reportedly left scores dead and wounded.

The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the deadly incident, in which the attackers reportedly used a vehicle painted to look like an ambulance, including bearing the distinctive medical emblem, what the UN Assistance Mission in the country, known as UNAMA, flagged as a &#8220clear violation of international humanitarian law.&#8221

In a statement from his Spokesman, Mr. Guterres said that indiscriminate attacks against civilians are grave violations of human rights and international humanitarian law and can never be justified.

&#8220Those responsible for today’s attack must be brought to justice,&#8221 he added.

The Secretary-General extended his deepest condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to those injured. He also expressed solidarity with the Government and people of Afghanistan.

Separately, Tadamichi Yamamoto, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and head of UNAMA, noted that the explosion occurred near a High Peace Council facility in a civilian-populated area of Kabul.

&#8220While the Taliban claim suggested the purpose of the attack was to target police, a massive vehicle bomb in a densely populated area could not reasonably be expected to leave civilians unharmed,&#8221 he emphasized.

Calling the attacks &#8220nothing short of an atrocity,&#8221 the UNAMA chief said those who organized and enabled it must be brought to justice and held to account.

He reiterated that under no circumstances are such attacks justifiable, and he called on the Taliban to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law, at all times.

27 January 2018 – Strong cooperation with the African Union (AU) is essential for the United Nations to be able to fulfill its mandate, Secretary-General António Guterres said on Saturday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where the two organizations signed a new agreement to bolster their collaboration on range of global issues.

&#8220For the United Nations, the most important partnership is the partnership with the African Union,&#8221 Mr. Guterres said, alongside Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, at the start of a weekend of activities for the UN chief at the 30th AU Summit, which gathers leaders from across the region, this year under the theme ‘Winning the Fight against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Africa’s Transformation.’

After signing the new Framework Agreement, the Secretary-General said that across the three main pillars of the United Nations &#8211 development, peace and security, and human rights &#8211 the African continent is key to solving global problems.

&#8220The international community would not be able to have successes in development if Africa does not succeed its development taking advantage of its youth ‘dividend’ youth,&#8221 he said, adding that neither world the global community secure lasting peace and security if Africa is not able to manage not only its conflicts, but above all, to make strong effort at conflict prevention and resolution.

&#8220We will be side by side with the African Union in respecting African leadership in solving African problems to help in this [regard],&#8221 said the Secretary-General, adding that Africa has also made admirable strides in human rights.

&#8220Today, we talk a lot about immigration. I have always seen African countries open their doors to refugees and migrants,&#8221 said the UN chief, adding that this is a lesson other parts of the world could learn from.

The understanding reached today follows the signing at UN Headquarters in April 2017 of a landmark framework to strengthen partnership between the UN and the AU on peace and security, and help the two organizations better respond to the evolving challenges of peace operations.

26 January 2018 – Ahead of next month’s Olympics and Paralympics in the Republic of Korea (ROK), United Nations General Assembly President Miroslav Lajčák on Friday appealed to all UN Member States to observe the historic ‘Olympic Truce’ during the Games.

“I solemnly appeal to all Member States to demonstrate their commitment to the Olympic Truce for the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympic and Paralympic Games and to undertake concrete actions at the local, national, regional and world levels to promote and strengthen a culture of peace and harmony based on the spirit of the Truce,” said Mr. Lajčák.

He also called upon all warring parties of current armed conflicts around the world to “boldly agree to true mutual ceasefires for the duration of the Olympic Truce, thus providing an opportunity to settle disputes peacefully.”

The ancient Greek tradition of the ekecheira, or ‘Olympic Truce,’ began in the eighth century B.C., and serves as a hallowed principle of the Olympic Games. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) renewed this tradition in 1992 by calling upon all nations to observe the Truce.

The Peyonchang Olympics will be held 9-25 February and the Paralympics 9-18 March.

On 13 November last year, the General Assembly adopted a resolution that urges Member States to observe the truce individually and collectively throughout the period from the seventh day before the start of the Olympics until the seventh day following the end of the Paralympics.

The Assembly also expressed its expectation that “Pyeongchang 2018 will be a meaningful opportunity to foster an atmosphere of peace, development, tolerance and understanding on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia.”

In a statement on 9 January, UN Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed the decision of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to send a delegation to the Olympic Winter Games.

26 January 2018 – Calling on the world to “stand together against the normalization of hate, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has stressed in his message for the International Day dedicated to honouring Holocaust victims that everyone has a responsibility to quickly and decisively resist racism and violence.

Mr. Guterres recalled that the International Day, marked annually on 27 January, was created to honour the memory of six million Jewish men, women and children perished in the Holocaust and countless others lost their lives as cruelty convulsed the world.

Yet, decades since the Second World War, there is still the persistence of anti Semitism and an increase in other forms of prejudice.

Citing Neo-Nazis and white supremacy groups as among the main purveyors of extreme hatred, the UN chief said that too often, vile views are moving from the margins to the mainstream of societies and politics.

“Whenever and wherever humanity’s values are abandoned, we are all at risk,” stressed the Secretary-General.

“All of us have a responsibility to quickly, clearly and decisively resist racism and violence,” he state, adding: “Through education and understanding, we can build a future of dignity, human rights and peaceful coexistence for all.”

For his part, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein held the painful day of remembrance for Holocaust the victims as forcing us “to contemplate the horrors to which bigotry, racism and ultimately lead.”

“The sadistic brutality of the atrocities inflicted by the Nazi regime on Jews, Roma, Slavs, disabled people, political dissidents, homosexuals and others was nourished by layer upon layer of propaganda, falsifications and incitement to hatred,” he stated, adding how they were denigrated and smeared, “one after another, their rights were refused, and finally, even their humanity was denied.”

Mr. Zeid pointed to the statement of Primo Levi, who survived the Auschwitz Birkenau concentration camp: “It happened, therefore it can happen again.”

“As we honour the victims of the Holocaust,” Mr. Zeid continued, “we must also acknowledge the need to prevent the recurrence of anti-Semitism and all forms of racial and religious hatred and discrimination today.”

He specified the importance of upholding independent rule of law institutions and a free press; maintaining respect for human rights; and education, which must be at the core of all efforts to combat anti-Semitism, racism, and all forms of discrimination.

“In honouring the victims of the Holocaust, we must recognise that only if we regard each other as fully equal in dignity and rights will we be able to come together to overcome the many challenges facing humanity,” he concluded.

At the same time, Audrey Azoulay, the Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), citied the Day as a call to strengthen nations’ commitment to peace.

Recalling the possibility of the worst, also carries a memory that must be forward-looking, she said, adding that combating anti-Semitism, in whatever form, “is at the heart of this fight” in which everyone has a role to play.

“We can build up awareness against forgetting, denial, historical revisionism, relativization of crimes and the return of stereotypes that fuel hatred. We can oppose the manipulation of facts by speaking the truth,” she asserted.

Among a series of events taking place across the UN system, the annual United Nations Holocaust Memorial Ceremony hosted by Ms. Alison Smale, UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, will take place on Wednesday 31 January. The Secretary-General, President of the seventy-second session of the General Assembly, Representatives of Israel, Germany and the United States, will deliver remarks.