With oceans and seas moderating global climate conditions, maintaining the earth’s ecosystem, and supporting the livelihood of more than 3 billion people, it was critical to develop a binding treaty aimed at the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity, delegates heard today as they convened to address organizational matters towards that goal.
Some 370 million indigenous peoples around the world were being dispossessed of lands their ancestors had called home for generations, speakers in the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues stressed today, as they opened their seventeenth session amid calls to protect their collective rights to natural resources.
Member States had “not yet moved from resolutions to lasting solutions”, when it came to addressing the scourge of sexual violence in conflict, the Security Council heard today during an all-day open debate addressing that issue.
On the heels of air strikes meant to hamper Syria’s ability to use chemical weapons, the Security Council today rejected a proposal by the Russian Federation to condemn such aggression by the United States and its allies over suspected chemical weapons use in the country, amid pressure from the Secretary-General to abide by the tenets of international law.
The Security Council decided today to extend for 10 days a set of modifications to the mandate of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), which enabled the Mission to support Government efforts to normalize relations in the contested border region.
Continuing its 2018 substantive session, the Disarmament Commission this afternoon elected René Zelený (Czechia) as Vice-Chair by acclamation, thus filling a remaining Bureau vacancy.
The current state of chaos in the Middle East, including the conflict in Syria, had become a threat to international peace and security, Secretary-General António Guterres told the Security Council this morning, appealing to the 15‑member body to overcome divisions and prevent dangerous situations from spinning out of control.
Failing to adopt a final outcome document at the end of its fifty‑first session, participants of the Commission on Population and Development expressed regret that consensus had eluded them for a second consecutive year.
Security Council members — citing multiple incidents involving the alleged use of weapons of mass destruction — vowed to redouble efforts to keep such deadly agents out of the hands of terrorists and other non-State actors, as they considered the work of the “1540 Committee” created for that purpose 14 years ago.
The Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples today approved Grenada as the host of its 2018 Pacific Regional Seminar, to be held from 9 to 11 May.
