The global escalation of conflict-related sexual violence — disproportionately affecting women and girls — must be addressed through demilitarization, enforcement of arms embargoes, gender-responsive arms control and strengthened accountability, the Security Council heard today during its annual open debate on the matter.
Amidst ongoing paralysis in the Security Council due to the proliferating use — and misuse — of the veto despite escalating global crises, speakers in the General Assembly today called for action to ensure that casting one is not the end of United Nations action when the eyes of the world are looking to the Organization to deliver an effective response.
The first quarter of 2024 was the deadliest for Haitians with around 2,500 people killed or injured in gang violence, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council, calling for the urgent deployment of the Multinational Security Support Mission authorized by the 15-member body in October 2023.
The Economic and Social Council’s Financing for Development Forum today began its review of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and other financing for development outcomes, as well as the means of implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
While tensions have simmered in recent months due to an inability to address long-standing issues through dialogue, the senior United Nations official in Kosovo told the Security Council today that the establishment of a community of Serb-majority municipalities could provide a solution to normalization, as speakers also urged Belgrade and Pristina to recommit to European Union-facilitated dialogue.
One year after fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group brutally interrupted Sudan’s democratic political transition, the outlook for its people is bleak, as conflict continues to rage, and the risk of famine is imminent, a senior United Nations official today told the Security Council, urging scaled-up action by the parties to protect civilians and facilitate humanitarian access.
During an era of “profound uncertainty” and as the international rules-based order “is being rigorously tested”, the Head of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) told the Security Council today that belief in the multilateral system is at the core of the regional group’s agenda for 2024, as it focuses on resolving conflicts in the region including the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Economic and Social Council Youth Forum concluded its annual session today.
Urging maximum restraint following recent escalations in the Middle East, the Head of the United Nations urged an end to the deadly cycle of retaliation and called on the international community to work together to avert a full-scale regional conflict, first by ending hostilities in Gaza and ultimately by realizing the two-State solution, as the Security Council today convened its quarterly open debate on the situation in the region.
The Security Council today blocked Palestine’s bid to become a full member of the United Nations due to a United States veto on a draft resolution that would have recommended the granting of such status.
