niallhoran: To celebrate the 5th anniversary of Heartbreak Weather’s release, a special edition of the album with bonus tracks “Dress” and “Nothing,” along with live versions of several songs from the album, will be released digitally this Friday. Pre-orders for the physical editions, including a special limited edition deluxe vinyl with an additional live track, are now available from the link in my bio.

I can’t thank you enough for the love and support you’ve continued to show for this album all these years later xx

Today is a solemn reminder of the grave risks facing our staff members as they carry out their vital work under the United Nations flag.

These brave women and men represent humanity’s highest calling: helping people in their hour of desperate need. They come from countries spanning the globe, but are united in their common dedication to the noble causes of peacekeeping, delivering aid and assistance, and upholding international law and human rights in countries and regions rocked by conflict and disaster.

They also face enormous and unacceptable risks — including violence, detention and abduction. Since 2022, 381 UN personnel have been detained — including 7 in January and February of this year. In total, 27 UN personnel are still in detention.

Our hearts are with their families and colleagues, and I will not relent in calling for their release and safe return.

In their name, we urge all countries to fully implement the 1994 Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel, and the 2005 Optional Protocol to the Convention.

On this important day, let’s honor the courage and dedication of humanitarians everywhere by pledging to protect and support them as they help build a more peaceful, humane world for us all.

António Guterres.

Statement from the UN Secretary-General António Guterres on the International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members 2024; March 25th.

International human rights law provides a clear and universal framework relating to detention, enshrined by the following standards:

United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (“Beijing Rules”)

Excellencies, dear colleagues, friends,

I am honoured to be with you to commemorate the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

Please allow me to read a message from the Secretary-General, marking this important annual commemoration: 

“For four hundred years, enslaved Africans fought for their freedom, while colonial powers and others committed horrific crimes against them.

On the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, we remember and honour the millions of Africans who were trafficked and enslaved.

Their lives were ruled by terror, as they endured rape, floggings, lynchings and other atrocities and humiliations.

Many of those who organized and ran the Transatlantic slave trade amassed huge fortunes. Meanwhile, the enslaved were deprived of education, healthcare, opportunity, and prosperity.

This laid the foundations for a violent discrimination system based on white supremacy that still echoes today.

Descendants of enslaved Africans and people of African descent are still fighting for equal rights and freedoms around the world.

Today and every day, we reject the legacy of this horrific crime against humanity.

We call for reparatory justice frameworks, to help overcome generations of exclusion and discrimination.

We appeal for the space and necessary conditions for healing, repair and justice.

And above all, we resolve to work for a world free from racism, discrimination, bigotry and hate.

Together, as we remember the victims of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, let’s unite for human rights, dignity and opportunity for all.”

Excellencies, colleagues, friends,

On this important day of remembrance, we also recall the courage of generations of enslaved Africans and their descendants who stood against oppression and subjugation.  

From the time of the first abductions, to the door of no return in Africa, to the cities and farms where they were forced to work, enslaved Africans resisted their captors, revolted against their masters, and worked to escape their bonds.

The resolute resistance of Queen Nanny of the Maroons in my own country, Jamaica, forced the British Empire to the peace table. 

In Brazil, the leadership and struggle of Zumbi dos Palmares is celebrated annually as a Day of Black Consciousness.

The skillful diplomacy and military prowess of Queen Nzinga Mbandi of Ndongo and Matamba in present-day Angola, thwarted Portugal’s colonial ambitions.   In Saint Domingue, in present-day Haiti, Toussaint Louverture’s heroism transformed a slave rebellion into a revolutionary movement.

Here in the United States, Harriet Tubman made a death-defying run for freedom and helped others to win their liberation on the Underground Railroad.

And, on a slave ship on the way to the American state of Georgia, a group of Ibo people from what is now Nigeria rose in rebellion and drowned their captors, before tragically committing mass suicide, refusing to give up their dignity and freedom.

This evening, I will attend the opening of a new UN exhibition which tells the story of this tragic event.   Excellencies, friends,

The heroic struggles of these and many other leaders inspired generations of activists.

But they are not over.

Descendants of enslaved Africans and people of African descent around the world are still fighting for their rights and for their freedoms.

The original lie of white supremacy, which animated and justified the horrors of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, the Jim Crow laws and the Apartheid system, continues to poison communities and societies.

Today, as we recall centuries of injustice, it is our duty to reject and dismantle racist oppression, end the spread of hatred and lies online, and confront slavery’s lasting legacy of marginalization and impoverishment.   

We must reverse the consequences of generations of exclusion and discrimination that led to gross inequities in healthcare, education, and social and economic opportunities — inequities as you know that continue to this day.

In the many countries affected by the Transatlantic Slave Trade, everyone, and all parts of society, have a part to play in this work of healing and repair.

From acknowledging and seeking forgiveness for the egregious crimes of the past…  to creating mechanisms for redress… and rejecting hatred and discrimination in all its forms – all can help to heal the intergenerational trauma and repair fractured and segregated societies.

Today, as we remember the victims of slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, let us redouble our efforts to confront the legacy of slavery in our own communities and societies.

Together, let us resolve to learn the lessons of history and build a more just, a more equal, and a more prosperous world for all.

Thank you.

Secretary-General's remarks to the General Assembly on the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade 2024.