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.
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 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.
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.
The Security Council’s failure to respond to the conflict in Syria, now in its ninth year, is a clear weakening of its responsibility to protect, a human rights advocate stressed today as briefers presented details of the humanitarian impact of fighting in Idlib, including attacks on medical facilities.
Several recent tragedies involving migrants and refugees in Libya have spotlighted the extreme vulnerability of those groups, the senior United Nations official in that country told the Security Council today, as he described a rapidly worsening conflict exacerbated by external support.
