Disarmament

In the Occupied Palestinian Territory, a five-day vaccination campaign led by the Ministry of Health is under way supported by WHO, UNICEF, UNRWA, donors and partners, to vaccinate children under the age of three, including in hard-to-reach areas.

Unable to adopt the agenda of its substantive session, the Disarmament Commission decided to suspend the remainder of its opening meeting until tomorrow afternoon.

The UN Peacebuilding Fund has approved $2.5 million for an anti-corruption initiative in Guinea-Bissau to strengthen the country’s oversight and audit institutions, advance digital solutions and reinforce partnerships with national stakeholders.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, observed on 4 April:

The Security Council was briefed today on the work of its subsidiary body tasked with monitoring and supporting efforts to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction to non-State actors, as speakers underscored the importance of its work in a tumultuous time for global security.

The Security Council met today to debate Iran’s nuclear programme amid rising tensions in the Middle East, as the Russian Federation and China challenged the legality of United Nations sanctions on Tehran under the “snapback” mechanism.

Syria’s past chemical-weapons programme came under further scrutiny today as the Security Council examined new findings indicating that, in addition to the 26 declared sites, more than 100 other locations may have been involved in the previous Government’s chemical-weapons-related activities.

In Lebanon, where the Ministry of Public Health reported over 70 fatalities and over 435 injuries since the start escalated bombardments in the south and in Beirut’s southern suburbs, the UN country team and Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is scaling up the humanitarian response.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for the International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness, observed on 5 March:

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the Conference on Disarmament, in Geneva today: