The fragmentation of Yemen is becoming a stronger and more pressing threat, the Security Council heard today, as the top United Nations official in the country cautioned that recent clashes risk further deepening the world’s leading humanitarian crisis and spreading violence to other southern governorates.
Amid recent developments in the Persian Gulf and the wider Middle East, the Security Council discussed today how to ease tensions and contribute constructively to the resolution of conflicts in the region, as many speakers described the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as the core of regional instability.
The process of drafting the first-ever treaty addressing marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction entered a new phase today as Member States began text-based deliberations, with a view to reaching an agreement by the first half of 2020.
In a global landscape marked by complex, asymmetrical conflicts — as well as the increasingly common use of autonomous weapons — the 1949 Geneva Conventions are more crucial than ever, prominent legal and humanitarian figures told the Security Council today, as members considered the relevance of international humanitarian law in a rapidly changing world.
The Security Council convened an emergency meeting today, roundly condemning a car bomb explosion in Libya that killed two United Nations staff members and injured scores of others, including civilians, in the northern port city of Benghazi.
The Security Council underlined the need for more support and adequate resources for the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) today amid increased demands from Guinea-Bissau and post-transition countries in the region.
Owing to vetoes and excuses by some of its members, the Security Council has so far “utterly failed” tens of thousands of people arbitrarily detained, abducted or disappeared in Syria, stressed civil society representatives today, as they demanded information about detainees’ whereabouts and support for grieving families.
The Security Council reiterated today its grave concern over the most recent outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, highlighting the urgent need to respond since the disease could spread rapidly, possibly with serious humanitarian consequences and impacting regional stability.
Calling attention to the plight of tens of thousands of children detained in war-torn countries and 420 million others growing up in conflict-affected places, delegates told the Security Council that much more must be done to ensure they fully enjoy their right to be protected.
The General Assembly, by a recorded vote of 137 in favour to none against with 12 abstentions, adopted a resolution today urging the United Nations and the Pacific Islands Forum to strengthen their joint pursuit of sustainable development outcomes, while also underlining the need for coherent approaches to build resilience to extreme weather in the region.
