Meetings Coverage

The West Bank is at a breaking point, with settler violence reaching unprecedented levels, the Security Council heard today.

Arrangements to hold long-awaited elections in South Sudan in December remain insufficient, the Security Council heard today, as speakers called for urgent action so that the world’s youngest nation can finally complete its transition to a stable, democratic Government.

Winning the fight against Islamic State in the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) and its splinter groups requires intensive international cooperation and practical action, senior UN officials told the Security Council today, warning that terror networks are quickly adapting to the world’s shifting technological and geopolitical landscapes.

The Security Council today renewed the sanctions regime targeting non-State armed groups and individuals operating in the Central African Republic for another year.

In a Middle East aflame with tensions, from Gaza to the Gulf, resolving the Palestine-Israel conflict remains central to wider peace, the Security Council heard today.

After taking stock of progress towards Security Council reform and looking ahead to future negotiations on that topic, the General Assembly today adopted several texts relating to upcoming reviews and meetings, as well as to its Second Committee (Economic and Financial) and Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization).

Intensified hostilities in Ukraine, the Russian Federation and surrounding maritime corridors are exacting a devastating toll on civilians and imperiling global food security, senior UN officials warned the Security Council today, citing attacks on third-party merchant vessels and a 20 per cent spike in wheat prices since the start of July.

Following fraught deliberations on its reappointment of the standing UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for another four-year term, the General Assembly today also adopted several draft texts concerning sustainable development, peace and international law.

At today’s Security Council open debate on the peaceful settlement of disputes, speakers called for greater use of the UN’s diplomatic toolbox — including mediation, fact-finding and early action under Chapter VI of the world body’s Charter — stressing that diplomacy is the only path forward with Council members leading by example.

The best chapters of the Economic and Social Council are still being written, that organ heard today as Nepal handed over the presidency to Algeria and a vision of a leaner, more substance-oriented Council.