The Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process briefed the Security Council this morning and said that settlement activity has continued in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.  He reiterated that all settlement activity is illegal under international law.

At a time when the global humanitarian response system was struggling to meet an unprecedented demand in aid for millions of people displaced by natural disasters and conflict, new approaches and stronger partnerships were key to overcome urgent challenges, the Economic and Social Council heard today at the opening of its humanitarian affairs segment.

The Special Committee on Decolonization approved two draft resolutions for the General Assembly’s consideration today, as it heard petitioners on the questions of Guam, Turks and Caicos and the United States Virgin Islands.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for World Refugee Day, observed on 20 June:

Given the iconic nature of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the interconnected nature of disputes throughout the region, creating the conditions for the parties to return to meaningful bilateral negotiations remained critical, the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process told the Security Council today.

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) World Congress, held in Montreal from 19 to 22 June:

With the long-term goal of improving the United Nations worldwide delivery of administrative support services in mind, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today took up the Secretariat’s proposal to create three shared service centres — in Nairobi, Budapest and Mexico City — to handle dozens of transactional services.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Vassily A. Nebenzia (Russian Federation):

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Vassily A. Nebenzia (Russian Federation):

On 18 June 2018, the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011) and 2253 (2015) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida, and associated individuals, groups, undertakings and entities approved the addition of the entries specified below to its ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions List of individuals and entities subject to the assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo set out in paragraph 1 of Security Council resolution 2368 (2017), and adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations.