The General Assembly adjourned its emergency special session on Ukraine today on the eve of the first anniversary of the Russian Federation’s invasion of that country, adopting a resolution that underscored the need to urgently reach peace, demanded that the Russian Federation withdraw its military forces and emphasized the need to ensure accountability for crimes committed on Ukraine’s territory.
The Federal Government of Somalia has made significant progress since the Council last took up the situation in September 2022 — including on such national priorities as the fight against the Al-Shabaab terrorist group — senior officials told the Security Council today, as members warned that an ongoing drought is expected to render half the population food insecure by mid-2023 and place the country at increased risk of famine.
Resuming an emergency special session on Ukraine almost to the day of the first-year anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine, the General Assembly met today to consider a draft resolution introduced by that country’s delegation that, if approved, would underscore the need to reach a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine as soon as possible in line with the Charter of the United Nations.
As news came in of an Israeli security forces operation in Nablus that killed 10 Palestinians, speakers at the first formal meeting of the Palestinian Rights Committee in 2023 appealed for an immediate end to the deadly cycle of violence.
The Intergovernmental Conference to draft a new maritime biodiversity treaty convened its second plenary session today, hearing reports from facilitators and feedback from participants on the developments of the small working groups tasked with tackling different aspects of the draft agreement.
Opening its 2023 session today, the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization heard from speakers debating the propriety of sanctions, the Committee’s working methods and consideration of proposals, as well as its role of supporting Member States in the peaceful settlement of disputes.
Hailing peacekeeping as the truest form of international solidarity, speakers at the first meeting of the 2023 session of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations underscored the need to strengthen missions and operations through strategic communications, gender mainstreaming and better protections for those who serve in them.
With the one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine just days away, the senior United Nations political affairs official told the Security Council today that the Organization is not in a position to verify or confirm any recent claims regarding alleged acts of sabotage against the two Nord Stream undersea gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, in September 2022.
Upcoming local elections — the first planned in the Central African Republic since 1988 — present the “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to advance the country’s peace and political process, senior officials told the Security Council today, as members highlighted the deteriorating security and socioeconomic situations and their heavy toll on civilians.
The Security Council today adopted a presidential statement expressing its deep concern and dismay over Israel’s recent announcement of further construction and expansion of settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as well as the “legalization” of settlement outposts, as United Nations senior officials briefed members on the latest developments on the ground.
