Ahead of an international summit for peace in Ukraine to be held in Switzerland on 15-16 June, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today that May saw the highest number of civilian casualties in a single month since June 2023 as she detailed the humanitarian situation amidst ongoing offensives in the country’s north-east.
In a series of elections today, delegates in the General Assembly chose its President for the seventy-ninth session, the Bureaus of the six Main Committees, as well the five non-permanent members of the Security Council for the next two-year term.
The United Nations team investigating atrocity crimes committed in Iraq by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) has laid the groundwork for future judicial proceedings, speakers told the Security Council today as they discussed ways to continue accountability efforts beyond the evidence-collecting body’s mandate expiry in September 2024.
The Security Council today decided to renew measures designed to implement the arms embargo against Libya for another year, in particular those authorizing Member States — acting nationally or through regional organizations — to inspect vessels on the high seas off Libya’s coast believed to be in violation of the arms embargo imposed on that country.
The unannounced launch on 27 May by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea of yet another reconnaissance satellite using new technology represents a violation of United Nations resolutions and a grave threat to peace and denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, speakers warned the Security Council today.
The Security Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) today for a final 19 month-period until 31 December 2025, after which UNAMI will cease all work and operations except with respect to any remaining liquidation of the Mission.
Stressing the grave and unprecedented challenges to peace and security, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees told the Security Council in a briefing today that 2024 is even worse than last year in terms of the number of refugees and internally displaced people worldwide.
With absent political progress, ongoing violence and a worsening humanitarian situation in Syria, terrible risks could be on the horizon for that beleaguered country and the global community, the Secretary-General's Special Envoy warned the Security Council, as he called for a de-escalation of hostilities, starting in Gaza, and a comprehensive engagement among all stakeholders to arrive at a lasting solution to the 14-year Syrian conflict.
The Security Council today extended for one year the sanctions regime — including asset freezes, travel bans and an arms embargo — imposed on South Sudan, reiterating its readiness to review arms embargo measures through modification, suspension or progressive lifting, in light of progress achieved on critical established benchmarks, as numerous speakers highlighted that the text fails to acknowledge Juba’s positive achievements and, instead, hinders its efforts to peace and stability.
Briefing the Security Council on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question, the Special Coordinator for that region’s peace process urged Member States to support Gaza’s political future, work with the new technocratic Palestinian Government and develop a framework of its recovery, as many speakers, condemning the recent strike on Rafah, renewed calls for a ceasefire to enable humanitarian aid deliveries to the Palestinian people.
