Meetings Coverage

Amid a resurgence of violence and intercommunal attacks, Sudan and South Sudan must continue their political engagement for implementing security and administrative arrangements in Abyei, and achieving an acceptable solution on the final status of the Area, speakers told the Security Council today, as it also looked towards a renewal of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) mandate and the mission’s support to the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism before they expire on 15 November.

The General Assembly today adopted a resolution delivering $3.52 million to the Secretary-General to ease global food insecurity by facilitating the implementation of two key initiatives aimed at bringing agricultural commodities from Ukraine and the Russian Federation to world markets and countries in need.  The Assembly also considered the International Court of Justice’s annual report.

The Security Council today voted to extend the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) until 31 October 2023, calling on the parties to resume negotiations in good faith towards a mutually acceptable political solution for the region.

Speakers in the Security Council warned today against using disarmament and non-proliferation instruments to undermine multilateral cooperation, as the Russian Federation accused Ukraine and the United States of conducting biological weapons programmes and demanded an investigation.

The United Nations Secretary-General and Secretariat staff are international officials responsible only to the Organization and must not seek or receive instructions from any Government, the Security Council heard today, as the Russian Federation took issue with the request of several delegations, including the United States, for an investigation into whether the Russian Federation violated Council resolution 2231 (2015).

A Damocles sword was hanging over space, threatening to transform the peaceful domain into a theatre of conflict, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) was warned today, during its thematic debate.

The deteriorating security situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo continues to stymie favourable developments in the wider Great Lakes region, the Security Council heard today, as members stressed the need to strengthen regional cooperation and dialogue on countering common threats and working towards shared goals, including combating the illicit trade of natural resources that fuels conflict.

Special Rapporteurs presenting reports on the human rights situations in Afghanistan, Myanmar, Iran, Syria, Belarus and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea warned of Governments repressing their own people, as the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) continued its interactive dialogues on human rights today.

Delegates wrestled with the duality inherent in the concept of peremptory norms of general international law (jus cogens) ‑ which are a category of principles that, while cardinal to international law in theory, have proved elusive to identify in practice ‑ as the Sixth Committee (Legal) continued its discussion of the first cluster of topics from the International Law Commission’s report today.

As outer space activities multiply, it is vital to ensure the security and sustainability of that resource and bridge the space divide, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) heard today, as it began its consideration of international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space.