The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Volodymyr Yelchenko (Ukraine):

The ever-changing international peace and security landscape amid increasing demand for peacekeeping missions called for more robust partnerships, bolstered intelligence sharing, adequate resources and more women in leadership roles, delegates told the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations today.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres remarks to the General Assembly on the informal suggestion to create a new office for counter-terrorism, in New York today:

The following is the full transcript of the joint press conference on the humanitarian crises in Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres; Helen Clark, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); Stephen O’Brien, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator; Ertharin Cousin, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP); Carla Mucavi, Director of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Liaison Office in New York; and Justin Forsyth, Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), held in New York today:

Genuine political commitment to peace in Syria would be needed if 2017 was to offer any prospect other than the death and destruction of the past six years, the head of United Nations humanitarian affairs told the Security Council today.

Voicing deep concern over regional conflicts, radicalization and violent extremism, the Chair-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) today stressed the need to foster open and constructive dialogue in seeking common solutions to threats.

Opening its work this morning with a highly personal address by Secretary-General António Guterres, the Special Committee on Decolonization also voted to elect Rafael Darío Ramírez Carreño (Venezuela) as Chair of its 2017 session.

On 22 February 2017, the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011) and 2253 (2015) concerning ISIL (Da’esh) and Al‑Qaida 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 2 of Security Council resolution 2253 (2015) adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at the Special Committee on Decolonization organizational meeting, in New York today:

Speakers in the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization today emphasized the body’s role in interpreting legal provisions related to sanctions use, peaceful dispute settlement — and more broadly — cooperation with regional organizations in working to maintain peace and security.