Over the past month, more than 347,000 Congolese people have been forced to return to the Democratic Republic of the Congo from Angola.  Most are staying with families or at temporary sites in Kamako, in the Kasai.  The United Nations and aid partners are providing health services, water, sanitation, shelter and food.

The Security Council will hold more than 20 meetings in November, including important open debates on peacekeeping operations in Africa and the strengthening of global multilateralism, its President for the month said at a Headquarters press briefing today.

Despite recent progress, the continued impasse in the Conference on Disarmament undercuts its credibility and raises doubt about its continued relevance, delegates stressed today, as the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) took up its cluster on the disarmament machinery before concluding the thematic portion of its work.

Uprooted by war, today’s 68.5 million refugees are often branded as threats — turned back at borders, left to perish at sea, or detained indefinitely in horrific conditions, Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as he called for a return to dignity, human rights and a sense of shared humanity.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s remarks to the “United against Hate” Interfaith Gathering, in New York today:

The Security Council decided today to extend the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) until 30 April 2019, calling upon the parties to the dispute over that territory to engage constructively in resumed talks planned for the end of 2018.

Speakers overwhelmingly called on the United States to end its economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba as the General Assembly began its annual debate on the issue amid demands for the cessation of unilateral coercive measures.

Shrinking budgets are at odds with increasingly complex peace operations, delegates warned today, as the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) continued its general debate on the comprehensive review of United Nations peacekeeping.

As delegates concluded consideration of the third and final cluster of topics from the International Law Commission’s annual report, they emphasized the importance of addressing controversial issues, such as immunity of State officials who had committed crimes against humanity and the protection of the environment during armed conflict and occupation, with care and an acknowledgement of the matters’ complexity and political sensitivity.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Nóirín O’Sullivan of Ireland as the Assistant Secretary-General for Safety and Security.