Delegates at the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today considered the Secretary-General’s request to appropriate $102.8 million in 2025 for the UN peacekeeping operation in Somalia as it moves through a two-year transition period that will eventually end the Organization’s peacekeeping mandate in that country in October 2026.
Meeting on the heels of the Taliban’s new directive prohibiting women and girls from attending public and private medical institutes in Afghanistan, the Security Council examined the impacts of the de facto authorities’ increasingly repressive policies, amounting to “gender apartheid”, as speakers urged the Taliban to reverse course.
The General Assembly today adopted four resolutions, including one on oceans and the law of the sea, with delegates from small island developing States emphasizing the importance of preserving the ocean and equipping future generations to live in harmony with this critical, life-sustaining resource.
Despite escalating tensions in the region and continued fighting in Yemen, a political solution for peace in the country is still possible but requires the Security Council’s unity and decisive action, a senior United Nations official told the 15 member organ today.
Two individuals who violated peace and security in Sudan were subjected to targeted sanctions during the reporting period, the head of the subsidiary body concerning that country told the Security Council today, as Khartoum’s representative called on the 15-member organ to adopt meaningful measures that go beyond “mere meetings”, to counter external sponsorship of the Rapid Support Forces, which is causing grave civilian suffering in his country.
The General Assembly today demanded an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, reiterated its demand for the immediate release of all hostages and demanded that Israel allow the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to proceed with its aid operations without restriction in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
The Security Council today received a briefing on its sanctions regime for Haiti and heard a call for stronger measures from the country’s representative, who reported a surge in homicides and a tripling of kidnappings this year amid arms embargo violations.
As the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) completes its work, Member States must cooperate with the international court and each other to ensure the completion of the “cycle of justice” for the victims and survivors of war crimes and other atrocities committed in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, speakers heard today as the Security Council received briefings from the Mechanism’s top officials.
The General Assembly today underscored the importance of the ocean in sustaining life on Earth for present and future generations, underlining the need to maintain and promote a healthy, sustainable and rules-based global marine life as it considered the Secretary-General’s related report (document A/79/340).
Concerned about worsening global humanitarian and economic crises, natural and man-made disasters, threats to international peace and security and the effects of climate change on forced migration and food production, the General Assembly today took action on several resolutions addressing these issues.
