Acknowledging that the 46 countries in the least developed category have been handed “the rawest of deals”, world leaders called for a radical transformation of the deeply dysfunctional global financial order and a renewed commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals as the fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries opened today in Doha.
DOHA, 5 March — With least developed countries fast approaching tipping points across a range of interlocking crises — including climate change, conflict and the first increase in extreme poverty in a generation — speakers today stressed that the international community must rise to the occasion, as the fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries held the first of its eight high-level thematic round tables.
Following nearly 36 hours of non-stop negotiations, the Intergovernmental Conference today reached agreement on the text for a historic new maritime biodiversity treaty, as it adjourned its fifth resumed session.
As the Intergovernmental Conference to draft a new maritime biodiversity treaty convened on the eve of the closure of its resumed fifth session, some delegations expressed concern that discussions have gone beyond the Conference’s scope or are not adequately addressing the needs of geographically and economically vulnerable groups of countries, underscoring that the Conference’s outcome must align with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
As the Intergovernmental Conference to draft a new maritime biodiversity treaty continued its resumed fifth session, the Secretary-General sent a message to delegations, urging them to adopt a robust and ambitious agreement that advances ocean health for future generations.
The Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on Strengthening the Role of the Organization today failed to approve its annual draft report as a whole, approving instead one section of the text to forward to the General Assembly, as members concluded their 2023 session without consensus on several elements.
The Intergovernmental Conference to draft a new maritime biodiversity treaty continued its resumed fifth session today, as the President of the Conference, underscoring that “the time is ticking”, urged delegations to focus on the “must-dos” and “must-haves” to close on the text.
The earthquakes that struck Türkiye and Syria in recent weeks have only compounded suffering for the latter’s war-weary population — already plagued by 12 years of unrelenting armed conflict — senior United Nations officials told the Security Council today, calling on all parties to facilitate unimpeded access for urgent humanitarian relief.
As the Intergovernmental Conference to draft a new maritime biodiversity treaty went into its second week of negotiations focusing on an updated text, some delegations expressed concern that not all proposals have been reflected in the revisions and called for flexibility, confidence-building and maintaining integrity of the process under the auspices of the Conference President’s leadership.
The Security Council entity overseeing sanctions on Somalia recently met twice to consider issues including weapons smuggling between that country and Yemen and investigations into Al-Shabaab’s finances, its Chair reported today, also noting that the entity’s name had been changed to reflect its focus on that terrorist group.
