Meetings Coverage

The Security Council must urgently consider imposing an arms embargo on South Sudan, the head of United Nations peacekeeping said today while briefing members today on the crisis evolving in that country.

While creating institutions to promote and protect human rights and ratifying conventions were important, the true test lay in actions, the General Assembly heard today as it concluded its two-day high-level thematic debate, titled “UN@70 – Human rights at the centre of the global agenda”.

National-level implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development must be country owned and context specific, with its goals closely linked to national values and priorities, stressed speakers as the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development entered its third day.

Meeting the broad goals laid out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development would require collaboration and commitment across all relevant sectors, speakers said today, as the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development continued into its second day.

The failure of Israeli and Palestinian leaders to advance peace had created a vacuum that extremists were stepping in to fill, Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon told the Security Council today, urging both sides immediately to begin discussions with the Middle East Quartet and to coordinate with regional stakeholders in efforts to break the entrenched political impasse.

Human rights offered States a clear path towards stability and prosperity, the General Assembly heard today at the opening of a two-day high-level thematic debate, with officials examining the United Nation’s shortcomings and its response to global trends.

The Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) told the Security Council this morning that he was setting up a regional task force on the prevention of violent extremism in the region, as he appealed for greater efforts to counter the spread of terrorism and associated lawlessness.

The High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development began its 2016 annual session today, with a focus on its role as a central global platform for ensuring the world would meet its most critical development objectives.

The Central African Republic’s remarkable progress over the past two years risked being reversed unless national authorities demonstrated commitment to inclusive and transparent governance, and to addressing the root causes of the crisis afflicting the country, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations warned as he briefed the Security Council today.

The General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution that welcomed progress in Africa in conflict prevention and peacebuilding while pointing to ways to address the root causes of conflict and promote durable peace and sustainable development.