Syria continues to avoid full cooperation with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to urgently address information missing from its submitted declarations, including providing details on the unauthorized movement of two cylinders related to the 2018 chemical weapon incident in Douma, the top United Nations official for disarmament told the Security Council today.
Highlighting notable investigative progress into international crimes committed by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), also known as Da’esh, and cooperation of Iraqi authorities, the head of the United Nations team probing those transgressions called for the adoption of adequate domestic legislation to ensure accountability and enable prosecution of core international crimes, during his semi-annual briefing to the Security Council today.
Enhanced coordination, adequate resources and increased integration of women and youth are necessary for delivering on sustainable peace and development, delegates heard at a joint meeting of the Economic and Social Council and Peacebuilding Commission today.
Against a backdrop of global conflicts, economic uncertainty and a changing climate, the General Assembly today recognized the power of sport to expand sustainable development and inspire young people around the planet with the adoption of a consensus resolution.
The General Assembly adopted five resolutions today, four by recorded vote, on the questions of Palestine and the Middle East, including a text that called on Israel to cease all actions contrary to international law that are aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
The Security Council today extended the mandate of its subsidiary 1540 Committee, for a period of ten years until 30 November 2032. The Committee monitors implementation of Council resolution 1540 (2004) that aims to prevent non-State actors from developing, acquiring, manufacturing, possessing, transporting, transferring or using nuclear, biological and chemical weapons and their means of delivery.
Against a background of increasing violence, shrinking civil society space and creeping annexation, speakers at a special meeting of the Palestinian Rights Committee to observe the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People stressed the need to mobilize efforts to hold Israel accountable, including through the International Court of Justice.
Worrying and dangerous developments in Syria risk triggering a military escalation that would threaten nearly three years of relative calm, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria told the Security Council today, calling on all parties to de-escalate immediately and to focus on the stalled political process instead.
Delegates in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today laid out sharply different perspectives on whether the United Nations shift to an annual budget cycle three years ago is viable for the long term.
Warning that current trends could worsen the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and destabilize the region, the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Process, briefing the Security Council today, called on all parties to rein in violence and incitement and, together with the international community, take urgent steps towards achieving the two-State solution.
