Solemnly marking the twenty-fifth anniversary of the “cowardly terrorist act” on 11 September 2001, senior United Nations officials today called on the Security Council, Member States and the entire international community to uphold their responsibilities to remember the profound human cost of the international scourge and fight collectively to end it.
The Security Council today extended for one month the 1591 Sudan sanctions regime, including targeted sanctions and an arms embargo, in order to allow more time for negotiations on whether to expand the measures.
The General Assembly today took note of the report of its General Committee on the organization of its eighty-first regular session, adopting its agenda and taking note of the allocation of the items.
With Security Council members locked into disagreement on whether sanctions concerning Iran’s nuclear programme have snapped back or not, some speakers stressed the need to appoint experts to support that sanctions committee even as others insisted that the Council stop considering this agenda item at all.
During an emergency meeting on the sharp escalation of the conflict in Yemen, the Security Council today heard that the period of relative calm prevailing in the country over the last four years has ended; now, the international community must determine how to address this new, more dangerous phase of war.
As the General Assembly concluded its eightieth session today, outgoing President Annalena Baerbock (Germany) reflected on a term marked by geopolitical divisions, institutional reform and a renewed defence of multilateralism.
While spotlighting United Nations efforts to promote peace, pursue development and confront emerging challenges over the past 80 years, the new President of the General Assembly nevertheless urged that the organ’s upcoming session seek to address the unmet expectations surrounding the Organization under the theme “Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: A United Nations that Delivers for All”.
The General Assembly today took an important step towards correcting distortions in commonly used world maps, particularly the Mercator projection, which are seen misrepresenting the relative size of continents and contribute to a diminished perception of Africa and other equatorial regions.
The United Nations disarmament Chief told the Security Council today that the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has verified the destruction of 42 aerial bombs declared by Syria as part of its chemical weapons programme, marking the first time since 2014 that the watchdog has confirmed the destruction of Syrian chemical munitions.
Despite concerns from several delegations that the process was rushed, the General Assembly decided this morning to merge the United Nations System Staff College (UNSSC) with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR).
