Security Council

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the Security Council’s quarterly open debate on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, in New York today:

Speakers in the Security Council urged Israel today to respect its long-established ceasefire agreements with Lebanon and Syria and stay clear of the areas where United Nations peacekeeping missions are deployed to carry out their duties.

The Russian Federation’s daily attacks on Ukraine bring death and terror to the local population, while 36 per cent of the country’s population will require humanitarian assistance in 2025, the Security Council heard today, even as delegates traded accusations about the competing geopolitical agendas at stake.

Updating its sanctions regime concerning Libya today, the Security Council exempted certain activities from the arms embargo on that country, allowed for the investment of its frozen assets and created new sanctions designations for those involved in the illicit trade in Libyan petroleum products.

The Security Council today unanimously adopted a presidential statement on Lebanon, welcoming the recent election of President Joseph Aoun and the designation of Nawaf Salam as Prime Minister.

One year after adopting a text demanding that the Houthis immediately cease all attacks on merchant and commercial vessels in the Red Sea, the Security Council today reiterated that demand in a new resolution and called for ongoing monitoring of the situation as these attacks continue with increasing sophistication.

The conflict in Yemen has become increasingly internationalized, with the escalating cycle of strikes and counter-strikes hindering the prospects of peace, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today, warning that the improved security conditions for civilians that have existed since the 2022 truce could be lost.

After the examination of the fourth report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in Nigeria (document S/2024/559) and the adoption of conclusions on the report, the Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict agreed to address the following messages through a public statement by the Chair of the Working Group.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has been actively working towards acquiring new military capabilities that undermine the global non-proliferation architecture, a senior United Nations official warned the Security Council today, as its members condemned that country’s 6 January launch of a new-type intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile.

As Syria seeks to chart a new course after the fall of the former regime, there are great opportunities and real dangers in the current moment, the Security Council heard today, while that country’s representative said its people are eagerly turning the page on oppression.