The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:
Delegates elaborating the terms of a new treaty under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea pledged to continue negotiating in the spirit of cooperation and good faith, as the Intergovernmental Conference tasked with drafting a legally binding instrument on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity concluded its third session today.
The General Assembly, acting without a vote, adopted resolutions today on cooperation between the United Nations system and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and on strengthening the implementation of international environmental law in support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, while also completing the election of Vice-Presidents for its seventy-fourth session.
In Burkina Faso, where armed attacks continue to affect parts of the north and east, some 30,000 people have been displaced every month since the start of 2019. July alone saw a nearly 35 per cent surge in the number of health centres closed due to insecurity, depriving 625,000 people of access to basic care.
Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to the event in commemoration of the twentieth anniversary of the referendum in Timor-Leste, in New York today:
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.
On 29 July 2019, Virginia Gamba, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, and Pramila Patten, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, briefed the 2127 Sanctions Committee concerning the Central African Republic and the Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict.
Preliminary reports from medical facilities in Yemen indicate that in the past two days, as many as 13 people have been killed and at least 70 others were wounded during the clashes in Aden and Abyan governorates.
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).
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.
