The widespread proliferation of approximately 1 billion small arms in circulation around the world — to terrorists, parties to intra-State conflict, organized criminals and warring gangs — continues to pose a major threat around the globe, the senior United Nations disarmament official told the Security Council today.
The preparation meeting for the 2020 United Nations Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 concluded today, with delegates outlining their views on the potential content of the political declaration amid calls that it reflect the historical urgency to improve the state of the world’s waterways.
The world must galvanize collective action to protect and preserve the planet’s major water bodies, experts said today at the opening of a two-day preparatory meeting on the 2020 United Nations Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14.
Members of the Palestinian Rights Committee described their work today as all the more urgent in light of the new Middle East peace plan unveiled by the United States, which deviates from the long-held international consensus on the question of Palestine.
The Security Council today decided to renew its Central African Republic sanctions regime for six months — including an arms and ammunition embargo, with a number of exemptions — while renewing the mandate its related Panel of Experts for seven months.
The General Assembly paid tribute today to Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who led Oman for nearly half a century and passed away on 10 January at age 79, with Secretary-General António Guterres praising him as a leader who prioritized cooperation and multilateralism, earning the respect of his people and those far beyond.
Cooperation between the United Nations and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is vital to maintaining international peace and security and combating global menaces such as climate change and the spread of terrorism, the heads of the two organizations told the Security Council today, as some delegates described the regional bloc’s consensus-building approach, known as the ASEAN Way, as an example to follow.
The senior United Nations official in Libya expressed outrage in the Security Council today over the conduct of actors inside and outside the country who nod towards peace yet double down on military actions, as delegates called for an end to foreign meddling and for upholding the arms embargo as part of a broader plan to stop the spiralling conflict.
Acting unanimously today, the Security Council decided to extend the mandate of its peacekeeping force in Cyprus, while calling for the establishment of a mechanism for direct military contacts between the sides and relevant parties.
The building of trust and confidence is a key component of a successful political process to bring about peace and stability in Syria, the Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Envoy for the country told the Security Council today, cautioning that increasing violence in the north-west threatened to stall negotiations before they had properly begun.
