Warning that people and countries most vulnerable to climate change also are most vulnerable to terrorist recruitment and violence, nearly 60 speakers in an open debate today told the Security Council that the negative synergy between the two crises threatens to undermine States and international security itself, as the 15-nation organ considered a draft resolution proposed by Niger and Ireland on the matter.
The Economic and Social Council today elected a Vice-President for its 2022 session and countries to fill five outstanding vacancies in its subsidiary bodies. It also approved nominations for 24 experts to the Committee for Development Policy as well as two countries for the Committee for Programme and Coordination and adopted an oral decision relating to its 2022 agenda.
Despite the extraordinary circumstances presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Security Council’s Mali sanctions committee held several important consultations in 2021 — including the first virtual meeting of any subsidiary body to employ simultaneous interpretation — the Security Council heard today during a briefing on the body’s recent activities.
Syria’s declaration of its chemical weapons programme cannot be considered accurate and complete due to the identified gaps, inconsistencies and discrepancies, the United Nations disarmament chief told the Security Council today, urging that country’s thorough cooperation with the Technical Secretariat of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
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.
Expressing outrage over Israel’s continuing harassment of human rights activists in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including the recent terrorist designation of six civil society groups, speakers urged the international community to take strong action in holding the country accountable for its conduct, as the Committee on the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People met today.
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.
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.
