Meetings Coverage

Israel had moved forward with illegal settlement activity at a high rate since late June further dashing hopes for a two-State solution, the United Nations top envoy for the Middle East peace process told the Security Council today.

Following a week of clarion calls for diplomacy, promises to build a more equitable world order and impassioned accounts of such crises as war and climate change, General Assembly President Miroslav Lajčák (Slovakia) closed the seventy-second annual general debate today with a vow to “do even more” to resolve those myriad challenges.

Security, human rights and international law took centre stage at the General Assembly today, with States diverging over how best to preserve their stability in the face of existential threats, as the 193-member body entered the fifth day of its annual high-level debate.

The interdependence of States and the benefits of joint action must be recognized and reaffirmed, the General Assembly heard today, as speakers debated the value of multilateralism in addressing pressing global challenges, ranging from inequality to climate change.

The de-escalation of tensions on the Korean Peninsula should flow from the lessons generated by the diplomacy that shaped the agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme, speakers in the Security Council said today.

Spotlighting terrorism as one of today’s greatest challenges, Heads of State and other Government officials outlined their vision for combating that phenomenon — including through stronger international cooperation and efforts to address its root causes — as the General Assembly entered the third day of its annual high-level debate.

The Security Council today asked the Secretary-General to establish an independent investigative team to support domestic efforts to hold Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) accountable for its actions in Iraq.

Leaders of the United Nations, national Governments and civil society urged universal accession to the new international agreement prohibiting nuclear weapons, as dozens of Heads of State and Government became the first signatories to the landmark treaty during the annual event to promote international instruments for peace and development.

Rising nuclear tensions, the unfolding humanitarian situation in Myanmar and the impending threats posed by the effects of climate change were among pressing issues that world leaders emphasized today as they took the podium for the second day of the General Assembly’s annual general debate.

The “primacy of politics” — including through mediation, ceasefire monitoring and assisting in the implementation of peace accords — should be the hallmark of the United Nations approach to resolving conflict, by the terms of a resolution adopted by the Security Council today.