Discussions on a new high seas treaty centred today on which stakeholders — from civil society and indigenous peoples to coastal States and the private sector — should be invited to decide how to protect the biological diversity of the world’s oceans.
Updating the Palestinian Rights Committee on recent developments in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the observer for the State of Palestine today cautioned that the international community’s inaction, blanket support from the United States President and hate speech by Israeli politicians in the run‑up to Israel’s presidential elections in April has emboldened the occupying Power.
Delegates underlined a need to clarify how a new high seas treaty will interact with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea today as the Intergovernmental Conference to draft a legally binding instrument on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity entered its third day.
Most Security Council members expressed regret today over the decision by the United States to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Syrian Golan, stressing the importance of upholding international law, as the 15-member organ heard briefings on the situation in that occupied territory.
The Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations concluded its 2019 session today with the approval of a report containing a technical summary of its work, even as members were unable to reach consensus on the report’s substantive elements.
The Security Council decided today to extend until 31 March 2020 the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), as previously set out in resolution 2158 (2014), and requested the Mission to maintain and strengthen its presence throughout the country, as the security situation allows.
With the conflict in Syria having just entered its ninth year, and the country’s people having endured eight years of horrendous suffering, the United Nations is seeking to forge a negotiated political solution, the Organization’s senior political and peacebuilding affairs official told the Security Council today.
The Security Council pressed for speedier implementation of Mali’s peace agreement, encouraged Burkina Faso to continue democratic reforms and learned of the challenges faced by the joint force of the Group of 5 for the Sahel States (G‑5 Sahel) during a visiting mission to the region on 23 to 24 March, the co‑leads of the mission said today.
With the Intergovernmental Conference to draft a new maritime diversity treaty under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea continuing its second substantive session today, delegates debated how best to share the benefits of marine genetic resources and how to monitor their use in areas beyond national jurisdictions.
Progress can be made on even the most protracted issues when national leaders of Africa’s Great Lakes demonstrate political will, the United Nations Special Envoy for that region told the Security Council today as it discussed the presence of armed groups, the refugee crisis and the illicit exploitation of and trafficking in natural resources, among other persistent challenges.
