The Security Council today extended the mandate of United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) until 31 August 2020, reiterating its call for Israel and Lebanon to support a permanent ceasefire and a long-term solution based on the principles and elements set out in resolution 1701 (2006).
Expressing concern by recent developments in south Yemen, including the violent attempt to take over State institutions, the Security Council today called on all involved parties to show restraint and preserve the country’s territorial integrity.
Experts drafting a new global instrument on biodiversity in ocean areas beyond national jurisdiction today deliberated which stakeholders — ranging from adjacent coastal States to indigenous peoples to the general public — should be consulted about planned activities under the treaty, as well as their potential role in environmental impact assessments.
With the delicate political process intended to resolve the crisis in Syria entering a critical phase, senior United Nations officials called today for immediate Security Council action to ensure a ceasefire is in place in that country’s north-western Idlib Governorate amid a surge in civilian casualties and ongoing attacks on key infrastructure.
The Security Council decided today to renew until 31 August 2020 sanctions — including a travel ban and assets freeze — that it imposed through resolution 2374 (2017) on individuals and entities actively stymying progress in implementing the 2015 Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in Mali.
Experts working to draft a new treaty on biodiversity in areas of the ocean beyond national jurisdiction today weighed provisions aimed at prohibiting States from claiming sovereignty over marine genetic resources in those areas, with speakers diverging on the question of whether their use is the “common heritage of mankind”.
The leadership of Iraq is hard at work building on progress made since the territorial defeat of Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh), but the recent flare-up in regional tensions could potentially undermine ongoing efforts to restore stability and prosperity, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in that country warned the Security Council today.
Scattered violence, rising death and injury tolls, and the ongoing construction of settlements in occupied territory continue against a backdrop of stalled negotiations on how to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process told the Security Council today.
Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) may have lost its territorial foothold in Syria, but it remains a global threat through a network of affiliates stretching from West Africa to South-East Asia and residual wealth estimated at up to $300 million, senior counter-terrorism officials told the Security Council today.
Continuing negotiations to draft a new treaty on biodiversity in ocean areas beyond national jurisdiction, delegates today deliberated who should be entitled to make proposals related to area-based management tools under the auspices of the new instrument, as well as which broader principles should underpin them.
