With parliamentary elections in Iraq scheduled for 11 November, and the drawdown of the United Nations Mission there slated for the following month, the senior United Nations official in the country told the Security Council today of the progress Iraq has made — while he and other speakers also called for urgent efforts to resolve issues involving Baghdad’s relationship with the Kurdistan region and Kuwait.
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Meetings Coverage
NICE, FRANCE, 9 June — Reliable data is key to making informed decisions and strengthening efforts to predict and respond to ocean hazards linked to the triple planetary crisis — climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss — speakers said today at the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference.
The Special Committee on Decolonization opened the substantive portion of its 2025 session today and approved three draft resolutions relating to territories whose people have not yet attained a full measure of self-government.
Briefing the Security Council today on the latest developments in Central Africa, a senior United Nations official described electoral gains coupled with security setbacks, as Council members welcomed the former, expressed concern over the latter and noted the additional threat posed by financial constraints on humanitarian operations.
NICE, FRANCE, 9 June — The international community must stop using the oceans as a garbage dump, speakers at the first panel discussion of the 2025 Ocean Conference underscored, even as they expressed “cautious optimism” about the growing momentum around marine ecosystem protection, from global agreements to scientific knowhow.
NICE, FRANCE, 9 June — The ocean is in crisis, but recovery is still possible if the world acts urgently, speakers told an international conference today on the shores of the Mediterranean, as they underscored the ocean’s essential role in sustaining life — from producing oxygen to supporting billions of people and enabling global trade.
While the world is tantalizingly close to ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030, the risk of backsliding is great due to shortfalls in funding, lack of political will and intersecting inequalities, the General Assembly heard today.
Welcoming the Syrian interim authorities’ continued engagement to address chemical-weapons issues long left unresolved by that country’s previous Administration, the United Nations’ disarmament chief told the Security Council today that international support is needed to fully realize the elimination of Syria’s chemical-weapons programme.
The Security Council today failed to adopt a resolution aiming to ameliorate the plight of civilians in Gaza, as the United States vetoed the measure despite affirmative votes by the other 14 members of the 15-nation organ.
The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) today approved without a vote a draft resolution to advance the comprehensive review under way of peacekeeping operations by the Special Committee dedicated to peacekeeping.