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With no aid allowed into Gaza for more than a month, the UN Secretary-General appealed for guaranteed humanitarian access to the enclave. Speaking to journalists at UN Headquarters, António Guterres also repeated his call for a renewed ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, and the release of all hostages still being held inside the shattered enclave. No food, fuel, medicine and commercial items have entered Gaza since 2 March following the Israeli blockade, and supplies are piling up at crossing points.

UN Secretary-General called for commitment to build a world of justice and dignity in honour of the victims and survivors of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. António Guterres joined survivors, diplomats and civil society members for the annual ceremony in the UN General Assembly Hall to mourn the lives lost in this “chilling chapter in human history” and to prevent it from ever happening again. He recalled that the genocide occurred at terrifying speed.

The UN chief called for immediate and unrestricted humanitarian access to Myanmar, where last week’s devastating earthquakes claimed over 3,000 lives and left millions in urgent need of aid. Speaking to reporters at UN Headquarters in New York, Secretary-General António Guterres warned that the earthquake has “supercharged the suffering”. “Myanmar today is the scene of utter devastation and desperation,” he said.

Secretary-General António Guterres warned of a rapidly deteriorating crisis in South Sudan, calling for urgent dialogue, the immediate release of detained officials and renewed commitment to the 2018 peace agreement. “All the dark clouds of a perfect storm have descended upon the people of the world’s newest country – and one of the poorest,” Mr. Guterres told reporters at UN Headquarters in New York. After finally gaining independence from neighbouring Sudan in July 2011, civil war broke out in South Sudan in December 2013.

The transatlantic slave trade may have ended centuries ago but its legacy is ever present, the UN Secretary-General said, marking the International Day of Remembrance for its victims. Addressing the General Assembly, Secretary-General António Guterres warned that systemic racism, economic exclusion and racial violence continue to deny people of African descent the opportunity to thrive. He called on governments to acknowledge the truth and finally honour the trade’s legacy by taking action.