The Security Council today unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the decision of the Taliban to ban Afghan women from working for the United Nations in Afghanistan, saying that it undermines human rights and humanitarian principles.
With Syria at a potentially important juncture due to renewed diplomatic attention to the strife-torn country in the aftermath of devastating earthquakes, unlocking progress on a political solution requires multiple stakeholders who hold different keys to work together, the Organization’s senior official on the ground said today during his briefing to the Security Council.
Despite heightened tensions, the “Agreement on the path to normalisation between Kosovo and Serbia”, reached in Ohrid, North Macedonia in March, marks a historic milestone, the Security Council heard today, as senior representatives from Pristina and Belgrade offered countering perspectives on the drivers of regional insecurity.
Prior to adopting three draft resolutions tackling infrastructure connectivity, voluntary national reviews and cooperation with the Council of Europe, the General Assembly held its first ever formal debate on the use of the veto in the Security Council, with speakers deliberating the impact of the new transparency and accountability mechanism — enabled by resolution 76/262 — and its role in enhancing the General Assembly’s functions while achieving legitimacy in the use of the veto.
With Haiti descending into a catastrophic spiral of violence, the head of the United Nations office there warned the Security Council in her briefing today that the country’s people need help now.
Youth-led and youth-focused initiatives and organizations must be fully supported by Governments, the private sector, and other key partners, with financing, mentorship, skills training, capacity-building, and safe spaces to ensure achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, speakers told the Economic and Social Council’s annual Youth Forum today, spotlighting the power of youth in designing solutions to address global challenges.
Concerned by a tidal wave of pressing global challenges from the spike in misinformation and disinformation to widening digital gaps, delegates today underscored the essentiality of multilingualism while outlining several concrete recommendations for the United Nations Department of Global Communications, as the Committee on Information concluded the general debate of its forty-fifth session.
After 10 days of heart-breaking violence and chaos that have ravaged Sudan and claimed more than 400 lives, including 4 from the United Nations family, the world needs an all-out effort for peace, Secretary-General António Guterres told the Security Council today, as others echoed his call for the fighting to stop immediately.
Even as the holy days of Eid al-Fitr, Passover and Easter overlapped around the world, violence erupted in the holy sites of Jerusalem, the United Nations senior official in charge of the Israel-Palestine peace process told the Security Council today, urging all parties to recommit to the two-State solution.
Young people must be included as equal partners in finding solutions and making decisions about the world’s most pressing challenges, speakers told the Economic and Social Council’s annual Youth Forum today, spotlighting how youth around the world are advancing progress on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and how the United Nations, Member States and other stakeholders should support their greater meaningful participation.
