The situation at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has deteriorated rapidly to the point of becoming “very alarming”, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi warned the Security Council today, in a meeting requested by the Russian Federation and marked by resounding calls to allow the Agency’s technical experts to visit the area to address mounting safety concerns.
Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), also known as Da’esh, and its affiliates continue to exploit conflict-related fragility to plan and conduct terrorist attacks while the international community faces a rash of overlapping challenges that risk complicating counter-terrorism responses and fuelling extremism, senior United Nations officials told the Security Council today, as members debated how best to address this proliferating threat.
The Security Council held an emergency meeting today to assess a fragile truce between Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants in Gaza after three days of deadly fighting, with the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process calling on all sides to abide by the agreement and delegates denouncing the deliberate targeting of civilians, notably children.
Highlighting the links between effective governance, peace, security and development in Africa, speakers urged greater international investment and support for nationally led efforts, stressing “Africa knows best” how to resolve its own problems, as the Security Council concluded a two-day open debate on stopping violence and building the capacity for peace and growth on the continent.
The Tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons concluded its first week today, with gripping first-hand accounts by those who survived the horrors of atomic production, testing and use, and who moved the debate from one of concepts and proposals towards a timeless appeal to uphold a collective moral conscience in saying “never again”.
Citing violations of international treaties banning the use of weapons of mass destruction, speakers meeting for a fourth day at the Tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons today also spotlighted the success of those instruments and urged stronger commitment to deter aggression and advance disarmament.
States that possess nuclear weapons have a particular responsibility to advance nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, speakers at the Tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons stressed today, as many delegates also highlighted the need to address the obstacles hindering the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East.
Citing an alarming rise in military spending, a widening gulf of distrust and nuclear rhetoric by the Russian Federation as it advances its war in Ukraine, Governments attending the Tenth Review Conference of the “cornerstone” agreement to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons today described heightened risks of miscalculations and proposed ways to tackle the “commitment deficit” endemic to past negotiation cycles.
Calling for the world to avoid the “suicidal mistake” of nuclear conflict, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres stressed that while humanity has been extraordinarily lucky so far, “luck is not a strategy”, and the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons is as crucial as ever, as the month-long Tenth Review Conference of that accord began at Headquarters today.
The Security Council today extended its arms embargo against the Central African Republic — as well as a travel ban and assets freeze imposed on certain individuals and entities, as designated by its sanctions committee — for one year, eased some of the embargo’s restrictions and renewed for 13 months the mandate of the Panel of Experts tasked with assisting that body.
