Today, the Director-General of the UN Office in Vienna, Ghada Waly, said that the UN in Vienna joins their Host City and Country in mourning in the wake of last night’s terrorist attacks, which killed several people and injured many others.

Yesterday afternoon, we also issued a statement on Afghanistan, in which the Secretary-General strongly condemned the horrific attack at Kabul University. The Secretary-General said that this appalling attack, the second in ten days on a school facility in Kabul, is also an assault on the human right to education.

The Deputy Secretary-General spoke to the Security Council this morning at its virtual open debate on “Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace: Contemporary Drivers of Conflict and Insecurity.”

On South Sudan, some sad news to report: yesterday, we told you about an aid worker who was killed and today our humanitarian colleagues tell us another aid worker was killed.

Also on South Sudan, the Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, today said that she is encouraged by the positive steps taken by the South Sudan’s People’s Defence Forces to court martial perpetrators of sexual violence.

Turning to Central America where Hurricane Eta is about to make landfall over Nicaragua near the border with Honduras: Our UN teams on the ground in Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala are actively monitoring developments and are in contact with national authorities and regional partners. Together with authorities in Honduras and Nicaragua, the UN Emergency Technical Teams are working to identify available resources to support the response upon the request by the two governments.

An update on what our country teams are doing in India to help address the COVID-19 pandemic: Cases have surpassed 8 million with more than 123,000 deaths, according to UN figures. The UN team, led by Resident Coordinator Renata Dessallien, is supporting authorities to save lives and livelihoods, and to protect rights.

The Secretary-General is encouraged by the important announcement made by the Emir of the State of Qatar that the country will hold elections for the Advisory Council next October.

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Office of the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General