In response to Cyclone Idai, the first of three planes carrying relief items from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) landed today in Mozambique; supplies are to be distributed to 30,000 people there and in Malawi and Zimbabwe.

With the conflict in Syria having just entered its ninth year, and the country’s people having endured eight years of horrendous suffering, the United Nations is seeking to forge a negotiated political solution, the Organization’s senior political and peacebuilding affairs official told the Security Council today.

The Security Council pressed for speedier implementation of Mali’s peace agreement, encouraged Burkina Faso to continue democratic reforms and learned of the challenges faced by the joint force of the Group of 5 for the Sahel States (G‑5 Sahel) during a visiting mission to the region on 23 to 24 March, the co‑leads of the mission said today.

Progress can be made on even the most protracted issues when national leaders of Africa’s Great Lakes demonstrate political will, the United Nations Special Envoy for that region told the Security Council today as it discussed the presence of armed groups, the refugee crisis and the illicit exploitation of and trafficking in natural resources, among other persistent challenges.

With the Intergovernmental Conference to draft a new maritime diversity treaty under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea continuing its second substantive session today, delegates debated how best to share the benefits of marine genetic resources and how to monitor their use in areas beyond national jurisdictions.

The current situation in Darfur is “completely different” from 2005, when sanctions were imposed, the representative of Sudan said today, urging the lifting of the arms embargo, as the Security Council heard a briefing on the work of its Committee established to implement the restrictive measures.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President François Delattre (France):

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President François Delattre (France):

The Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process warned the Security Council today about the danger of renewed violence in the Gaza Strip, “with potentially catastrophic consequences”, in the aftermath of rocket and mortar attacks from the Palestinian enclave and Israel’s robust military response.

The Commission on the Status of Women, concluding its sixty‑third session today, approved a set of agreed conclusions aimed at empowering women and girls by building greater social protection systems and access to public services and sustainable infrastructure.