As the Rohingya flee brutal attacks and persecution in Myanmar, speakers at the General Assembly today called for safe zones, sustained international support and justice, including by referring the situation to the International Criminal Court.
A few months after the signing of a United States-brokered peace accord between Kinshasa and Kigali, the Security Council today met for an open briefing on the situation in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with speakers emphasizing the need for positive steps towards a ceasefire and lasting peace, instead of continuing atrocities and a worsening humanitarian crisis.
Speakers warned of the dangers of unilateralism, emphasized the importance of the rule of law and appealed for more robust multilateralism, including through urgent reforms to the United Nations, as the General Assembly wrapped up its annual high-level general debate today.
In the shadow of the nearly two-year war in Gaza and an intensifying ground offensive in Gaza City, settlement construction has accelerated and settler violence continues in the West Bank, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today, as delegates warned that such defiance of international law and United Nations resolutions further undermine the prospects for peace and the two-State solution.
Heads of State and Government gathering for the fifth day of the General Assembly’s annual general debate called for bold reform of the United Nations, particularly the Security Council, so it can better respond to global crises and remain a genuine guarantor of peace and security.
The war in Gaza remained in sharp focus on the fourth day of the General Assembly’s annual high-level debate in a week that began with a conference for Palestinian statehood amid growing support among Member States for a sovereign State of Palestine.
The Security Council today failed to adopt a resolution that would have extended United Nations sanctions relief under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, following the decision by France, Germany and the United Kingdom to trigger the reimposition of sanctions — the so-called “snapback” mechanism — citing Iran’s significant non-performance of its commitments under the Plan.
Speakers called on world leaders to end nuclear sabre-rattling, return to dialogue and honour disarmament commitments to prevent humanity from extinction, as the General Assembly held a high-level meeting to mark the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.
Amid warnings that the United Nations risks becoming “the next League of Nations”, world leaders gathering for day three of the General Assembly’s general debate called for the Organization’s “reset” and voiced hope for peace and reconciliation.
Struggling to manage a world rife with conflict and emerging threats — from cyberattacks to drones to climate change — global leaders gathering for day two of the General Assembly’s general debate stressed the urgency of strengthening the Organization created eight decades ago to restore peace after two world wars.
