Outgoing chairs of Security Council subsidiary bodies told the 15-member organ today that in-person visits to the countries concerned are critical for both gathering first-hand information about the effects of sanctions and correcting misunderstandings about the purpose of such measures, as they reported on the challenges that COVID-19 posed to their working methods over the last two years.
The General Assembly adopted five resolutions concerning humanitarian assistance today, as delegates wrestled with how relief efforts should respond to the compounding crises of COVID‑19, conflict and climate change, as they looked towards the challenges facing the world in 2022.
Amid a fragile backdrop of peace and security in Darfur, regional dynamics are mainly favourable in maintaining stability, the outgoing head of Sudan’s sanctions committee told the Security Council today.
Describing Sudan’s political transition as “undergoing its greatest crisis to date” in the wake of a coup d’état, the United Nations top official for that country today cautiously welcomed the recent power-sharing agreement jointly announced by the nation’s military leader and the reinstated Prime Minister.
Warning that people and countries most vulnerable to climate change also are most vulnerable to terrorist recruitment and violence, nearly 60 speakers in an open debate today told the Security Council that the negative synergy between the two crises threatens to undermine States and international security itself, as the 15-nation organ considered a draft resolution proposed by Niger and Ireland on the matter.
Acting on the recommendations of its Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) and Sixth Committee (Legal), the General Assembly today adopted a total of 51 resolutions and 13 decisions on items ranging from decolonization to the power, study and dissemination of international law.
Syria’s declaration of its chemical weapons programme cannot be considered accurate and complete due to the identified gaps, inconsistencies and discrepancies, the United Nations disarmament chief told the Security Council today, urging that country’s thorough cooperation with the Technical Secretariat of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
The Economic and Social Council today elected a Vice-President for its 2022 session and countries to fill five outstanding vacancies in its subsidiary bodies. It also approved nominations for 24 experts to the Committee for Development Policy as well as two countries for the Committee for Programme and Coordination and adopted an oral decision relating to its 2022 agenda.
Despite the extraordinary circumstances presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Security Council’s Mali sanctions committee held several important consultations in 2021 — including the first virtual meeting of any subsidiary body to employ simultaneous interpretation — the Security Council heard today during a briefing on the body’s recent activities.
Expressing outrage over Israel’s continuing harassment of human rights activists in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including the recent terrorist designation of six civil society groups, speakers urged the international community to take strong action in holding the country accountable for its conduct, as the Committee on the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People met today.
