The Security Council today extended its authorization for Member States to intercept vessels transporting banned items to and from Somalia, including illegal arms imports and charcoal exports, until 28 February 2025 — a short-term renewal to provide members with additional time to discuss “the best shape” of the sanctions regime amid the ongoing United Nations drawdown in Somalia.
Delegates in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today considered the 2025 budget implications of five outputs of the First Committee’s (Disarmament and International Security) 2024 session that — if adopted by the General Assembly — would deliver nearly $800,000 to help verify nuclear disarmament, study nuclear-weapon-free zones and explore how the military’s use of artificial intelligence will impact peace and security. These First Committee actions would also establish a 21-member independent Scientific Panel on the Effects of Nuclear War and boost the progress of a group studying security and the use of communications technologies.
The Security Council today extended for 14 months the mandate of the team monitoring sanctions against the Taliban and associated individuals and entities that threaten Afghanistan’s peace, stability and security, as delegates highlighted the experts’ vital work.
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.
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 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.
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.
