United Nations Secretary‑General António Guterres was in Lisbon on Monday, 6 November, to speak at the Web Summit 2017 in the afternoon.

United Nations Secretary‑General António Guterres departed New York on Monday, 23 October, for the Central African Republic.

Negotiations aimed at improving the Security Council’s ability to respond quickly and effectively to emerging challenges must remain a transparent, Member State‑driven process free of politicization, delegates emphasized this morning, as the General Assembly concluded its annual debate on the 15‑member organ’s reform.

A sharp increase in settlement construction activity fuelled by the passing of a “regularization law” and combined with the demolition of Palestinian homes had led to an atmosphere of despair and hopelessness among Palestinians in the occupied territories, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) heard today.

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) passed six draft resolutions today, covering a range of issues, from prison reform and counter‑terrorism efforts, to human trafficking and alternative development.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) had been identified as responsible for the use of sulfur mustard at Umm Hawsh, and Syria as accountable for the use of sarin at Khan Shaykhun, Edmond Mulet, Head of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)‑United Nations Joint Investigative Mechanism, told the Security Council this afternoon.

Urging all parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina to step up the pace of reforms and to refrain from polarizing actions and rhetoric, the Security Council today renewed its authorization of the European-led multinational stabilization force (EUFOR ALTHEA) for one further year before commencing a debate on the situation in the country.

The Security Council today renewed for another year its authorization for international naval forces to join in fighting piracy off Somalia’s coast, underscoring that such crime exacerbated instability in the country and fuelled corruption and terrorism.

Among today’s highlights from the Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany, were a pledge by HSBC Bank to mobilize $100 billion in sustainable financing and investment in support of the transition to a low-carbon economy and green growth around the world, and the release of a report by the European Union saying it is on track to meet its 2020 emissions-reduction target.

Lack of political will on the part of an “elite few” continued to threaten efforts to reform the Security Council, the General Assembly heard today, as delegates warned that the resulting inertia risked jeopardizing the 15‑member organ’s credibility and that of the entire United Nations system.