Briefing the Security Council today on Mali, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, said that there had been progress in the implementation of the peace agreement, including with the establishment of interim authorities in a number of cities.  However, he noted that there remain delays and that the gains are fragile.

Following is the text of UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed's video message to the Economic and Social Council Partnership Forum, in New York today:

Despite progress since the 2015 signing of the Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in Mali, significant challenges — such as the accelerated activities of terrorists and the transnational networks funding them — continued to require international support, including possible changes to the United Nations operation there, the Organization’s new peacekeeping chief told the Security Council today.

While the first phase in implementing Colombia’s recently signed Peace Agreement between the Government and guerrilla fighters remained largely on track, the “relatively short window of opportunity” to build a solid foundation for peace required consistent vigilance, the senior United Nations official in that country said in a briefing to the Security Council today.

Speakers addressed the challenges of coping with refugee and migration flows and their impact on a country’s demographic makeup, as the Commission on Population and Development continued its annual session today.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres' remarks to the opening plenary session of the Supporting Syria and the Region Conference, in Brussels today:

The High Representative for Disarmament Affairs briefed the Security Council today on the alleged chemical weapons attack in Khan Shaykhun, southern rural Idleb, Syria.  If confirmed, he said, this would be the largest single chemical weapons attack in Syria since the Ghouta attack in August 2013.

The “clock is ticking” with no time to waste in forging strong public-private partnerships to stave off grave climate change consequences by using innovative solutions to build resilient communities and reach those most in need, the Economic and Social Council heard today.

The reported use of chemical weapons in north-western Syria, if confirmed, would constitute the largest single such attack in that war-torn country since 2013, the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs told the Security Council today, as members weighed a draft resolution to be tabled by France, United Kingdom and the United States.

Timely investment could turn the challenge of dealing with an ageing population in developed countries and a youth surge in Africa into unprecedented opportunity for growth, the Commission on Population and Development heard today as it continued its annual session.