The United Nations remains gravely concerned about the dangerous situation in and around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo told the Security Council today in a meeting requested by the Russian Federation and marked by emphatic calls to cease all military activities at the site.
Despite progress being made in Sudan — marked by the first International Criminal Court war crimes trial of a former Janjaweed commander — the nightmare for thousands of refugees and internally displaced persons has not ended, the Court’s top prosecutor stressed today, calling on the Security Council to urgently turn its words into action 17 years after resolution 1593 (2005).
The United Nations Secretary-General today urged Security Council members to update the diplomatic toolkit, used for decades to prevent catastrophic war, to meet the deteriorating global peace and security environment and move towards a world free of nuclear weapons. As António Guterres told Council members that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was ready to send a mission from Kyiv to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, Gustavo Zlauvinen, President of the Tenth Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, warned members that the norm against the use of such arms, one of the most important achievements of the post-Second World War era, is increasingly threatened.
Encouraged by the extension of a truce in Yemen until 2 October, the United Nations top official for the country told the Security Council today that he aims for an expanded agreement that would lead to a durable ceasefire and resumption of a Yemeni-led political process as speakers voiced their concerns about the ongoing humanitarian crises and the blocking of roads to Taiz.
The situation at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has deteriorated rapidly to the point of becoming “very alarming”, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi warned the Security Council today, in a meeting requested by the Russian Federation and marked by resounding calls to allow the Agency’s technical experts to visit the area to address mounting safety concerns.
Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), also known as Da’esh, and its affiliates continue to exploit conflict-related fragility to plan and conduct terrorist attacks while the international community faces a rash of overlapping challenges that risk complicating counter-terrorism responses and fuelling extremism, senior United Nations officials told the Security Council today, as members debated how best to address this proliferating threat.
Highlighting the links between effective governance, peace, security and development in Africa, speakers urged greater international investment and support for nationally led efforts, stressing “Africa knows best” how to resolve its own problems, as the Security Council concluded a two-day open debate on stopping violence and building the capacity for peace and growth on the continent.
The Security Council held an emergency meeting today to assess a fragile truce between Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants in Gaza after three days of deadly fighting, with the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process calling on all sides to abide by the agreement and delegates denouncing the deliberate targeting of civilians, notably children.
The Security Council today extended its arms embargo against the Central African Republic — as well as a travel ban and assets freeze imposed on certain individuals and entities, as designated by its sanctions committee — for one year, eased some of the embargo’s restrictions and renewed for 13 months the mandate of the Panel of Experts tasked with assisting that body.
While the newly signed deal to resume grain exports through Ukrainian ports offers a “beacon of hope” for countries in increasingly desperate need, close coordination among the parties involved will be critical to its success, the United Nations political affairs chief stressed today, as delegates in the Security Council both welcomed its potential for staving off famine and condemned the strike on the port of Odesa less than 24 hours later that threw that likelihood into jeopardy.
