Meetings Coverage

Sounding the alarm that “hell is breaking loose in Lebanon”, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres urged the Security Council in an emergency meeting to call on Hizbullah and Israel to pull back from the brink of a potentially catastrophic regional war. Sounding the alarm that “hell is breaking loose in Lebanon”, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres urged the Security Council in an emergency meeting to call on Hizbullah and Israel to pull back from the brink of a potentially catastrophic regional war.

The representatives of small island developing States and low-lying countries today urged immediate international action to combat sea-level rise — a global crisis threatening the lives and livelihoods of 1 billion people worldwide — during the General Assembly’s inaugural high-level meeting on the issue.

Ahead of an all-day meeting, with 90 speakers expected to take the floor, the Security Council adopted a Presidential Statement (to be issued as S/PRST/2024/5) affirming the principles set forth in the Charter of the United Nations and underscoring that the need to strengthen resolve to maintain international peace and security, consistent with the Charter, is more pressing than ever.

The rising level of impunity in the world is “politically indefensible and morally intolerable”, with many Governments and actors feeling entitled to a “get out of jail free” card, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned in his address to the General Assembly today as its annual high-level debate began, with world leaders raising alarm about the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.

“Let us intensify our efforts to seek peace in Ukraine,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres urged a ministerial-level Security Council meeting today, as speakers debated ways to stop the war in that country, with some offering mediation and pledging support and others calling for the cessation of weapon delivery to the Russian Federation.

Government leaders emphasized the need to rethink global governance and create a fairer, more inclusive multilateral system that will “benefit all countries” rather than “increase the power of a few”, as the Summit of the Future concluded its second and final day.

Current decisions must be made with the participation of youth and women to account for the long-term impact on future generations, speakers emphasized during an interactive dialogue at the Summit of the Future today.

The commitments of the recently inked Global Digital Compact must be carried out through collaborative actions fulfilling the promise of a digital world for all — eliminating digital divides and providing a prosperous, safe and inclusive future — speakers emphasized during an interactive dialogue at the Summit of the Future today.

Today the General Assembly adopted the Pact for the Future, in which Heads of State and Government — representing the peoples of the world — made 56 pledges to action seeking to protect the needs and interests of present and future generations amid the climate change, crisis and conflict currently gripping the globe.

Reform of international institutions, particularly the Security Council, rebuilding of trust and enhanced regional partnerships are critical to making multilateralism work for the peace and security of future generations, speakers underlined during an interactive dialogue at the Summit of the Future today.