Meetings Coverage

Opening its seventy-third session today, the Trusteeship Council elected Nathalie Broadhurst Estival of France as its President and James Kariuki of the United Kingdom as its Vice-President.

As the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea approaches its fortieth anniversary next December, delegates at the General Assembly today laid out the urgency of using the international treaty to sustain the oceans, protect marine resources and shield communities facing rising sea levels.

In the face of a slew of challenges, ranging from intractable conflicts to the climate emergency, strengthened multilateral action is needed to tackle the complex issues prompting migratory flows, Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, informed the Security Council today.  “With such challenges, the multilateral system has never been so important; yet, the international system has never been so prone to failure,” he said.

Delegates urged international partners to continue helping the Democratic Republic of the Congo implement its programme of action for 2021-2023, as the Security Council examined today the forthcoming mandate renewal for the United Nations peacekeeping operation in that country.

Stressing the enduring and pronounced threat posed by nuclear weapons, the General Assembly, acting on the recommendation of its First Committee (Disarmament and International Security), adopted 55 resolutions and decisions today, addressing the importance of ridding the world of the menace of weapons of mass destruction.

The second session of the Conference on the Establishment of a Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction concluded today with the adoption of the Conference report and rules of procedure.  The Conference also established a Working Committee for the intersessional period.

The Security Council today renewed for an additional three months its authorization for States and regional organizations cooperating with Somalia to use all necessary means to fight piracy off the coast of the East African country.

The Security Council heard the annual briefing from the chairs of its three counter-terrorism Committees today, as members stressed the importance of cooperation among the three bodies to mount a united front against the growing global scourge.

Significant steps have been taken in the pursuit of justice and securing accountability for victims, including by gathering and analysing evidence of crimes perpetrated by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh), and tying those crimes to specific members, the head of the United Nations team tasked with investigating atrocity crimes by that group told the Security Council today.

Adopting two consensus resolutions today, the General Assembly recognized the unifying power of sport and science as humanity struggles to emerge peacefully from a devastating global pandemic.