The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

Breaking decades of diplomatic paralysis would require greater involvement by civil society in pushing Governments to take action to end Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory, the 1997 Nobel Peace Laureate said today, the second and final day of the June Forum.

Briefly resuming its discussion today, the Conference to negotiate a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons approved a revised indicative timetable for the week of 3‑7 July (document A/CONF.229/2017/3/Add.3) and heard reports on progress made in the ongoing negotiations.

The Peacebuilding Commission opened its fourth annual session today, adopting a joint statement with the World Bank to reaffirm the importance of a strong relationship between the two bodies, as outlined in the newly signed United Nations-World Bank Partnership Framework for Crisis-Affected Situations.

The Head of the United Nations Mission in Colombia told the Security Council today that, with the final handover of weapons by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People's Army’s (FARC-EP), the United Nations had been requested to establish a second mission aimed at verification and fostering cooperation.

Approving the appropriation of $6.80 billion for 14 peacekeeping operations for the 2017/18 fiscal period, the General Assembly today adopted 21 resolutions and one decision contained in reports from its Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary).  (See Press Release GA/AB/4239.)

The transition of the United Nations mission in Haiti, cholera and issues of justice and impunity dominated discussions between the Security Council and stakeholders on the ground, the Council President for June said today as he gave an overview of the recent visit to the Caribbean nation.

Hailing the handover of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People's Army’s (FARC-EP) remaining weapons to a United Nations-backed team as a “true example” of courage and commitment to peace, Security Council members today pledged to support Colombia as it transitioned out of its five-decades-long civil conflict.

The Security Council, in a presidential statement today, emphasized that the withdrawal of the 13‑year‑old United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) “does not mark the end of the support of the United Nations” to the West African nation.

Expressing its deep concern over the number of civilians killed or maimed by landmines, improvised devices and other deadly remnants of war, the Security Council today called on the international community to end the carnage by acceding to regulatory treaties and supporting physical removal of such explosives.