The United Nations is paying greater attention to managing transitions during the drawdown and subsequent closure of its peace operations as they, if poorly handled, could reverse progress made, Secretary-General António Guterres told the Security Council today.
While a ceasefire in the key Yemeni port city of Hodeidah is holding, faster progress is needed to fully implement the 2018 Stockholm Agreement between the Government and the Houthi militia, the Security Council heard today, as briefers warned of the risks of the country being dragged into a regional conflict and a deterioration of a humanitarian crisis that is already the worst in the world.
The successful implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will hinge first and foremost on safe, stable societies, empowered populations and the active engagement of young people, delegates stressed today, as the Economic and Social Council’s 2019 High‑Level Political Forum drew to a close.
From climate change to burdensome debt, the challenges of small island developing States, least developed countries and landlocked developing countries were spotlighted today as the Economic and Social Council continued the ministerial segment of its High-Level Political Form on Sustainable Development.
The Security Council’s youth, peace and security agenda is beginning to make a difference for young people in conflict zones and other vulnerable situations, but much work remains to effectively incorporate their voices, energy and ideas into efforts to build and sustain peace, youth advocates told the 15-member organ today.
Delegates today called on a United Nations war crime court to complete the remaining judicial proceedings for atrocities committed in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, as the Security Council heard briefings from top officials of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT).
Delegates called for finishing “the unfinished business” of promoting and protecting women and girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights, as the General Assembly today concluded its high-level meeting commemorating the twenty‑fifth anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development.
Achieving continuous progress on women’s empowerment hinges on keeping the “promise of Cairo” alive, speakers stressed, as the General Assembly convened a high-level plenary meeting to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the landmark International Conference on Population and Development.
Months before the landmark Sustainable Development Goals Summit, delegates speaking during the ministerial segment of the Economic and Social Council’s High-Level Political Forum today urged world leaders to commit themselves to urgent, accelerated action to tackle the planet’s most critical challenges or risk a “terrible stain on the world’s conscience” for years to come.
The United Nations hopes that after Parliamentary elections and the formation of a new Government in Ukraine, recent encouraging statements by its new President, Voldodymyr Zelensky, will be followed by concrete actions to bring a positive dynamic to implement the Minsk Protocol agreements, the Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs told the Security Council today.
