Welcoming statements by the leaders of Israel and the State of Palestine during the seventy-seventh General Assembly session as a positive sign toward resuming the peace process, speakers in the Security Council today called for those words to be turned into action and progress be delivered on a two-State solution, especially in light continuing settlement activity and violence against civilians.
The so-called “referenda” conducted by de facto authorities in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine have been held during active armed conflict in the country and cannot be called a genuine expression of the popular will, the United Nations senior political and peacebuilding official told the Security Council today, as members condemned the Russian Federation’s “sham referenda”, while others called for a return to peace talks.
Afghanistan’s future depends on mutual engagement between the Taliban and the international community, a senior United Nations official for the country told the Security Council today, as members diverged over both the merits of that assessment and the correct path towards economic recovery in the only country in the world that bans secondary education for girls.
“Nuclear weapons are the most destructive power ever created — they offer no security, just carnage and chaos,” said António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, opening the plenary meeting to mark the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.
It is critical to finally make United Nations reform a reality to represent the entire international community, said ministers and representatives from around the world today, demanding further action on the current compounding crises as the General Assembly concluded its annual general debate.
Support for national law enforcement and financing for humanitarian aid are urgently needed to address three converging crises in Haiti that have resulted in a desperate, deteriorating situation, senior United Nations officials told the Security Council today in the wake of large-scale unrest in the country following the Government’s recent decision to cease subsidizing fuel.
Confrontation, unilateral action and interference in the internal affairs of States must yield to dialogue, cooperation and adherence to international law, world leaders stressed today as the General Assembly high-level debate continued, as the shortcomings of the current international system in addressing global challenges are manifest.
Under the shadow of war in Ukraine, world leaders today cast a spotlight on long-standing conflicts in other parts of the world, as the General Assembly continued its annual general debate, with speakers calling for strict adherence to international law and the Charter of the United Nations, while others sounded the alarm on the existential threat of climate change.
The deepening of inequalities and lack of fair representation in multilateral financial and economic institutions is impeding the international community's effective response to global challenges, the General Assembly heard today as it continued its annual general debate, with speakers echoing calls for vaccine equity, climate justice and institutional reform.
Pointing to dangerous and disturbing developments that portend more destruction in Ukraine, the Secretary-General of the United Nations called for full cooperation with the International Criminal Court in its investigation into alleged atrocities committed in that country, as high-level representatives of the Security Council and regional countries met to discuss accountability for the ongoing war.
