The United Nations must reform its development system by adapting its silo structure to work flexibly across sectors, tailoring programmes to specific country priorities and diversifying its funding sources in order to meet the unprecedented multisectoral demands of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, delegates stressed today, as the Economic and Social Council opened its 2016 operational activities segment.
Since the outbreak of war in 2013, both sides in South Sudan had engaged in actions that met criteria for the imposition of targeted sanctions, the Security Council heard today, as senior United Nations officials offered rare frontline views into the violence gripping the country and stunted progress towards the formation of a Transitional Government of National Unity.
The Economic and Social Council adopted three texts this morning, including one by which it changed the dates of its 2016 humanitarian affairs segment.
The General Assembly held a plenary meeting this morning to pay tribute to the memory of the United Nations’ sixth Secretary-General, Boutros Boutros-Ghali.
The Israeli-Palestinian-Israeli conflict had reached a pivotal point, and with no signs of an end to the violence that erupted in October, the onus was on both sides to shape their future before the opponents of peace decided their fate for them, the Secretary-General’s Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process told the Security Council today.
The Chair of the “751/1907” Somalia-Eritrea Sanctions Committee provided an update to the Security Council today on the recent findings of its Monitoring Group, as delegates called for improved coordination to staunch the illegal charcoal trade in Somalia, and pressed Eritrea for “frank and sincere” cooperation over its reported involvement in the Yemen conflict, support for armed groups in Ethiopia and progress on the question of Djibouti war prisoners.
Concluding the general debate for the session, speakers at the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization called for renewed political will to overcome divergent views and hammer out an agreement on how to move forward in several areas of maintaining international peace and security.
The security situation in Yemen had deteriorated since the first round of peace talks two months ago, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy told the Security Council today, stressing that a new cessation of hostilities and spirit of compromise would pave the way for a fresh round of talks and agreements on the country’s return to a peaceful and orderly transition.
The drawn-out political crisis in Guinea-Bissau was taking a toll on development and could only get worse in the absence of “a frank and sincere dialogue” involving all parties concerned, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for the West African country told the Security Council today.
The need to ensure the safety and security of peacekeepers, particularly given the increasing complexity of mission mandates, was of paramount importance the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations heard today, as it concluded its general debate.
