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

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message on the launch of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s nationally determined contributions synthesis report:

The Security Council decided today to extend the mandate of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) for one year until 15 November 2024 and maintain the Force’s current authorized troop and police ceilings.

Delegates in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today backed the ongoing multi-faceted construction and renovation projects at the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the United Nations Office at Nairobi, lauding efforts toward energy efficiency, cost savings and sustainability.  They also emphasized the need for the projects to be kept tightly on schedule.

In a full day of action, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) approved 12 draft resolutions today, with topics ranging from the Human Rights Council, persons with disabilities in conflict, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and human rights and digital technologies.

The General Assembly today took up the Economic and Social Council’s report and concluded its consideration of the Assembly’s resolutions on revitalization.

The Security Council turned its attention today to the police components of United Nations peacekeeping missions, with briefers emphasizing the need for more specialized resources to tackle myriad challenges — including organized crime and sexual and gender-based violence — as formed police units play their part in helping to build sustainable peace in places struggling to emerge from conflict.

The Syrian Government has extended permission for the UN to use Bab al-Salam and Al Ra'ee crossings to deliver humanitarian from Türkiye to north-west Syria for three months, until 13 February 2024. Each month, about 2.5 million people are reached with critical assistance and protection services.

The Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, in connection with the examination of the fourth report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in Mali (S/2022/856), agreed to address the following messages through a public statement by the Chair of the Working Group:

Against the backdrop of escalating violence in the Middle East, the United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affairs today warned of a dangerous expansion of the conflict in the wider region during the opening of the fourth session of the Conference on the Establishment of a Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction.