A Downing Street spokesperson said:
The Prime Minister met the United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres, in Downing Street yesterday for bilateral talks.
The PM and the Secretary General agreed that they were meeting at a time of considerable challenge to the international rules based system. They discussed the recent use of chemical weapons in Syria, and the need to establish an independent investigation and attribution mechanism to deter future use. They also agreed it was important to defend the rules based system, including challenges to the wider non-proliferation system.
The Secretary General thanked the Prime Minister for the UKs valuable support for the UNs humanitarian efforts, including those in Somalia, Yemen, and Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Prime Minister said that the UK was committed to continuing our leading role on international development and humanitarian assistance, and supporting the efforts of the UN.
The pair noted the positive outcome of last months Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting at which leaders committed to ensuring 12 years of quality education and learning for all across the Commonwealth, and the Secretary General welcomed the UKs leadership on global education.
The Secretary General also noted the UKs work to counter modern slavery and the UNs commitment to action on this. The Prime Minister welcomed the Secretary Generals efforts, and said that she would continue to call on countries to commit to the Call to Action on modern slavery, which she launched at the UN in September last year.
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