Describing the situation in Burundi as calm but fragile, the senior United Nations official there told the Security Council today that after supporting a regionally-led inter-Burundian Dialogue process for more than three years, the time has now come for partners to re-evaluate how best to help the country out of its long-standing political impasse.
To meet emerging challenges of today’s increasingly complex international security and peace architecture, the United Nations Security Council must adapt, reform and expand its membership to include underrepresented regions, particularly Africa, the General Assembly heard today.
Delegates speaking at the Fifth Committee’s (Administrative and Budgetary) meeting today urged the Secretary-General to put forward a bold mobility framework to generate a more efficient, nimble Organization while giving staff members expanded opportunities to develop their careers.
The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) concluded its work today, approving eight draft resolutions on a range of topics from protecting children’s rights to ending judicial killings to respecting privacy in the digital age.
Strengthening cooperation with the African Union, including by providing it with adequate financing, is key to strengthening peacekeeping operations on the continent, speakers told the Security Council as it held a day-long open debate on that subject.
Against the backdrop of a tenuous calm, the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process today warned the Security Council that the Gaza Strip remains on the brink of an armed conflict that holds catastrophic consequences for some two million impoverished Palestinians living there.
Reiterating the importance of convening a constitutional committee as a first step towards a political solution to the crisis in Syria, the Secretary‑General’s Special Envoy for that country told the Security Council today that the United Nations is open to any suggestions on the list of disputed attendees that allows inclusive participation by civil society.
The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) approved nine draft resolutions today, including three related to the advancement of women.
With a new roadmap for peace in South Sudan facing persistent challenges, the integral involvement of women is vital, along with international support to ensure that the country’s leaders fulfil their responsibilities, the head of United Nations peacekeeping told the Security Council today.
Delivering impassioned pleas on behalf of 14 million civilians teetering on the edge of famine in Yemen, senior United Nations and civil society leaders today briefed a largely unified Security Council on political and humanitarian steps forward, emphasizing that a new “window of hope” has now opened in that country’s devastating and overlooked war.
