The Security Council today extended until 2 November 2025 the authorization to establish a European Union-led stabilization force in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as the 15-member Council reviewed the political, security and economic situation in the Western Balkan country.
Amid growing tensions between Pristina and Belgrade, all parties must engage in “responsible leadership” to uphold human rights and freedoms and to reach constructive political dialogue, the United Nations top official in Kosovo said today, as representatives of Pristina and Belgrade spotlighted their engagements with the international community and sparred over who is responsible for the lack of political progress to normalize relations between them.
Two years after the September 2022 explosions that severely damaged the Nord Stream 1 and 2 natural gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, the Security Council met today at the request of the Russian Federation, who, in the absence of a briefer, assessed national investigations into the blasts, while criticizing the lack of conclusive findings and the 15-member organ’s collective action on the matter.
The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Milbert Dongjoon Shin of the United States as his new Deputy Special Representative for the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).
In Ethiopia, since 23 July, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs have been on the ground in areas impacted by the landslide. The Organization, along with its partners, are already dispatching assistance, including food, nutrition, health and other critical supplies.
While tensions have simmered in recent months due to an inability to address long-standing issues through dialogue, the senior United Nations official in Kosovo told the Security Council today that the establishment of a community of Serb-majority municipalities could provide a solution to normalization, as speakers also urged Belgrade and Pristina to recommit to European Union-facilitated dialogue.
During an era of “profound uncertainty” and as the international rules-based order “is being rigorously tested”, the Head of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) told the Security Council today that belief in the multilateral system is at the core of the regional group’s agenda for 2024, as it focuses on resolving conflicts in the region including the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine.
Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks at the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) Regional Forum for Sustainable Development, in Geneva today:
With multiple global crises threatening the foundations of international peace, stronger cooperation between the European Union and the United Nations is more important than ever, the Council heard today, as delegates highlighted the indispensable role of multilateralism.
Stavros Lambrinidis, the new Head of the European Union delegation to the United Nations, presented his letter of appointment to UN Secretary-General António Guterres today.
