/sg/en/content/ossg/latest-statements Latest Statements, Off-the-Cuff and Readouts from Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary General of the United Nations en /sg/en/content/sg/press-encounter/2025-04-23/secretary-generals-press-encounter-climate Ladies and gentlemen of the media, may I first express to the Government and people of Türkiye my full solidarity in this difficult moment.  President Lula of Brazil and I just concluded a unique meeting with a cross-section of world leaders focused on climate action and a just transition. The gathering included 17 participants at level of heads of state and government representing some of the world’s largest economies — including China and the European Union — and some of the world’s most climate vulnerable countries. 23/04/2025 - 09:35 United Nations Office of the Spokesperson of the Secretary-General /sg/en/content/sg/press-encounter/2025-04-23/secretary-generals-press-encounter-climate /sg/en/content/sg/statement/2025-04-23/secretary-generals-video-message-the-occasion-of-spanish-language-day Download the video: 08/04/2025 - 18:05 United Nations Office of the Spokesperson of the Secretary-General /sg/en/content/sg/statement/2025-04-23/secretary-generals-video-message-the-occasion-of-spanish-language-day /sg/en/content/sg/statement/2025-04-22/secretary-generals-message-for-international-mother-earth-day-scroll-down-for-french Mother Earth is running a fever.   Last year was the hottest ever recorded:  The final blow in a decade of record heat.    We know what’s causing this sickness: the greenhouse gas emissions humanity is pumping into the atmosphere – overwhelmingly from burning fossil fuels.     We know the symptoms: devastating wildfires, floods and heat. Lives lost and livelihoods shattered.     And we know the cure:  rapidly reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and turbocharging adaptation, to protect ourselves – and nature – from climate disasters.   21/04/2025 - 22:09 United Nations Office of the Spokesperson of the Secretary-General /sg/en/content/sg/statement/2025-04-22/secretary-generals-message-for-international-mother-earth-day-scroll-down-for-french /sg/en/content/sg/statement/2025-04-21/secretary-general%E2%80%99s%C2%A0statement%C2%A0-the-passing-of-his-holiness-pope-francis I join the world in mourning the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis, a messenger of hope, humility and humanity. Pope Francis was a transcendent voice for peace, human dignity and social justice. He leaves behind a legacy of faith, service and compassion for all — especially those left on the margins of life or trapped by the horrors of conflict. Pope Francis was a man of faith for all faiths — working with people of all beliefs and backgrounds to light a path forward. 21/04/2025 - 08:45 United Nations Office of the Spokesperson of the Secretary-General /sg/en/content/sg/statement/2025-04-21/secretary-general%E2%80%99s%C2%A0statement%C2%A0-the-passing-of-his-holiness-pope-francis /sg/en/content/sg/statement/2025-04-21/secretary-general%E2%80%99s-remarks-the-opening-ceremony-of-the-un-permanent-forum-indigenous-issues Welcome to this twenty-fourth Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues – and thank you for bringing the voices, insights, aspirations, and concerns of Indigenous Peoples to this global stage. The world’s Indigenous Peoples are magnificently diverse in cultures, languages, histories, and traditions... But united by common features and common challenges.  You are the pre-eminent stewards of the world’s biodiversity and of the environment. 21/04/2025 - 12:16 United Nations Office of the Spokesperson of the Secretary-General /sg/en/content/sg/statement/2025-04-21/secretary-general%E2%80%99s-remarks-the-opening-ceremony-of-the-un-permanent-forum-indigenous-issues /sg/en/content/sg/press-encounter/2025-04-21/secretary-generals-remarks-press-the-passing-of-his-holiness-pope-francis I want to extend my deepest condolences to Catholics, and all those around the world, inspired by the extraordinary life and example of His Holiness Pope Francis.  Pope Francis was a messenger of hope, humility and humanity.    He was a transcendent voice for peace, human dignity and social justice.  21/04/2025 - 11:05 United Nations Office of the Spokesperson of the Secretary-General /sg/en/content/sg/press-encounter/2025-04-21/secretary-generals-remarks-press-the-passing-of-his-holiness-pope-francis /sg/en/content/sg/statement/2025-04-19/statement%C2%A0attributable%C2%A0-the-spokesperson-for-the-secretary-general-%E2%80%93-the-situation-yemen-scroll-down-for-arabic The Secretary-General is gravely concerned about the airstrikes conducted by the United States over the course of 17 and 18 April in and around Yemen’s port of Ra’s Isa, which reportedly resulted in scores of civilian casualties, including five humanitarian workers injured. Humanitarian assistance has been mobilized to support nearby health facilities. He is also alarmed by reports of significant damage to the port infrastructure and of possible oil leaks into the Red Sea.  19/04/2025 - 13:01 United Nations Office of the Spokesperson of the Secretary-General /sg/en/content/sg/statement/2025-04-19/statement%C2%A0attributable%C2%A0-the-spokesperson-for-the-secretary-general-%E2%80%93-the-situation-yemen-scroll-down-for-arabic /sg/en/content/sg/note-correspondents/2025-04-18/note-correspondents-rosemary-dicarlo-concludes-visit-lebanon Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo just completed a trip to Lebanon, in follow up to the January visit by the Secretary-General, to reaffirm the steadfast support of the United Nations for the country during this critical period.  18/04/2025 - 14:31 United Nations Office of the Spokesperson of the Secretary-General /sg/en/content/sg/note-correspondents/2025-04-18/note-correspondents-rosemary-dicarlo-concludes-visit-lebanon /sg/en/content/deputy-secretary-general/statement/2025-04-16/deputy-secretary-generals-remarks-the-opening-of-the-4th-partnering-for-green-growth-and-the-global-goals-%28p4g%29-summit-delivered Your Excellency To Lam, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam, Your Excellency Pham Minh Chinh, Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, Your Excellency Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Your Excellency Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Excellencies, Distinguished guests, 17/04/2025 - 12:13 United Nations Office of the Spokesperson of the Secretary-General /sg/en/content/deputy-secretary-general/statement/2025-04-16/deputy-secretary-generals-remarks-the-opening-of-the-4th-partnering-for-green-growth-and-the-global-goals-%28p4g%29-summit-delivered /sg/en/content/sg/statement/2025-04-14/statement-attributable-the-spokesperson-for-the-secretary-general-%E2%80%93-gaza The Secretary-General is deeply alarmed by Sunday's strike by Israeli forces on Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, incapacitating the hospital in Gaza City and dealing a severe blow to an already devastated healthcare system in the Strip. The Secretary-General recalls that, under international humanitarian law, wounded and sick, medical personnel and medical facilities, including hospitals, must be respected and protected. Medical supplies are running low while mass casualties continue to fill hospitals. 14/04/2025 - 18:08 United Nations Office of the Spokesperson of the Secretary-General /sg/en/content/sg/statement/2025-04-14/statement-attributable-the-spokesperson-for-the-secretary-general-%E2%80%93-gaza /sg/en/content/sg/statement/2025-04-14/secretary-general%E2%80%99s-statement-the-second-anniversary-of-the-sudanese-conflict Two years into a devastating war, Sudan remains in a crisis of staggering proportions, with civilians paying the highest price.   Indiscriminate shelling and air strikes continue to kill and maim. Markets, hospitals, schools, places of worship and displacement sites are being attacked. Sexual violence is rampant, with women and girls subjected to horrific acts. Civilians suffer from gross violations and abuses from all warring parties.   14/04/2025 - 17:16 United Nations Office of the Spokesperson of the Secretary-General /sg/en/content/sg/statement/2025-04-14/secretary-general%E2%80%99s-statement-the-second-anniversary-of-the-sudanese-conflict /sg/en/content/sg/statement/2025-04-14/secretary-generals-remarks-the-fourth-session-of-the-permanent-forum-people-of-african-descent-delivered We meet at a time of profound challenges – both old and new. When current divides are growing. And the legacies of colonialism and enslavement continue to poison our world. We still bear witness to the scourge of racism, which blights lives and stains societies. People of African descent continue to face injustice, exclusion, systemic discrimination and violence. And even artificial intelligence, which holds such promise for humanity, too often mirrors and amplifies the same inequalities and racial biases that have plagued us for centuries. 14/04/2025 - 10:44 United Nations Office of the Spokesperson of the Secretary-General /sg/en/content/sg/statement/2025-04-14/secretary-generals-remarks-the-fourth-session-of-the-permanent-forum-people-of-african-descent-delivered /sg/en/content/sg/statement/2025-04-13/statement-attributable-the-spokesperson-for-the-secretary-general-%E2%80%93-ukraine The Secretary-General was deeply alarmed and shocked to learn of the missile attack on Sunday 13 April by the Russian armed forces on Sumy, Ukraine, which reportedly killed at least 34 people, including two children, and injured nearly 100 others.    The attack, on Palm Sunday and at the start of Holy Week, continues a devastating pattern of similar assaults on Ukrainian cities and towns in recent weeks, resulting in civilian casualties and large-scale destruction.   13/04/2025 - 19:33 United Nations Office of the Spokesperson of the Secretary-General /sg/en/content/sg/statement/2025-04-13/statement-attributable-the-spokesperson-for-the-secretary-general-%E2%80%93-ukraine /sg/en/content/sg/statement/2025-04-13/secretary-generals-video-message-for-the-un-pavillion-welcome-message-expo2025 Download the video here: https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/downloads2.unmultimedia.org/public/vi... As Secretary-General of the United Nations, I welcome you to the United Nations Pavilion at Expo 2025.   This Pavilion is a window into our work around the world — from our founding in 1945, right through today. 12/04/2025 - 19:31 United Nations Office of the Spokesperson of the Secretary-General /sg/en/content/sg/statement/2025-04-13/secretary-generals-video-message-for-the-un-pavillion-welcome-message-expo2025 /sg/en/content/sg/statement/2025-04-13/statement-attributable-the-spokesperson-for-the-secretary-general-%E2%80%93-sudan The Secretary-General strongly condemns the killing of scores of civilians in attacks on the town of El Fasher, as well as Zamzam, Abu Shouk and other nearby sites where displaced people are sheltering, in Sudan's North Darfur State.   13/04/2025 - 10:44 United Nations Office of the Spokesperson of the Secretary-General /sg/en/content/sg/statement/2025-04-13/statement-attributable-the-spokesperson-for-the-secretary-general-%E2%80%93-sudan