Meetings Coverage

The Security Council decided today to extend for another year a series of authorizations for Member States to inspect vessels on the high seas off the coast of Libya suspected of violating that country’s arms embargo.

Syria has yet to fulfil its obligations under the international instrument prohibiting the use of chemical weapons, senior United Nations officials told the Security Council today, pointing to documented instances of Syrian forces engaging in that type of warfare while members sparred over the objectivity of the investigative process used to substantiate those claims.

The Security Council decided today to extend the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) until 3 June 2022 and requested the Government of Sudan to swiftly sign a status of mission agreement with the Organization to enable the full, effective and unhindered functioning of the Mission.

Spotlighting the devastating cost of corruption to economies, societies and individuals around the globe — in particular during times of crisis and painstaking recovery — the General Assembly today adopted a sweeping Political Declaration with blueprints to help countries tackle bribery, money‑laundering, abuse of power and a raft of related crimes.

Reducing the cost of remittances is key to helping the world’s poorest countries marshal the resources needed to graduate from their low-income status and reliably finance sustainable development, experts said today as the first session of the Preparatory Committee for the fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries concluded.

The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) until 27 May 2022, deciding to provide a strengthened United Nations team in advance of the country’s election, to monitor election day and to continue to assist with the vote.

While the 21 May ceasefire is holding, Council members heard today that, following eleven days of the most intense hostilities in years, the 15-member organ must take concrete action to resolve the conflict between Israel and Palestine, breaking the vicious cycle of disregarded resolutions and recurring violence and transcending the hollow peace process that has failed civilians on both sides.

The Security Council adopted its annual report to the General Assembly today, covering the period from 1 January to 31 December 2020.

The Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations, suspending the substantive part of its 2021 regular session today, postponed taking action on 6 entities’ request for special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, and took note of more than 600 new quadrennial reports, postponing consideration of another 14 reports.

On the heels of early consultations that many delegates described as being rife with challenges, the General Assembly today adopted a resolution laying out next steps for multilateral negotiations to draft a landmark global treaty against the rising threat of cybercrime.