Describing a health system that is on the verge of collapse, the head of the United Nations health agency urged the Security Council today to secure an immediate ceasefire and unfettered humanitarian access in Gaza where “nowhere and no one is safe” as the war between Israel and Hamas rages on.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message on Africa Industrialization Day, observed on 20 November:

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message for the Paris Peace Forum, “Seeking common ground in a world of rivalry”, in Paris today:

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) approved 12 draft resolutions today on a wide range of topics, including the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, the role of the United Nations in promoting democratization and violence against women migrant workers.

As people feel “intense frustration and disillusionment” amid growing conflict and international economic uncertainties on the heels of a deadly global pandemic, revitalizing the work of the General Assembly — the most democratic body of the United Nations — is growing increasingly critical, its President said today.

The United Nations has released $25 million to cope with the effects of once-in-a-century flooding in Somalia, including $10 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund and $15 million from the Somalia Humanitarian Fund, all which is supporting work to save lives, stem disease outbreaks and address food insecurity.

On 6 November 2023, and in pursuance of paragraph 5 of resolution 2664 (2022), a representative of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, on behalf of the Emergency Relief Coordinator, briefed the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1591 (2005) concerning Sudan on the delivery of life-saving assistance and other activities that support essential human needs in Sudan.

The General Assembly today elected five new judges for the International Court of Justice in The Hague to begin their term 6 February 2024, acting simultaneously but separately with the Security Council.

The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today approved three resolutions, voting on two of them, including one demanding that Israel cease the exploitation, damage, cause of loss or depletion and endangerment of the natural resources in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and in the occupied Syrian Golan.

Delegates in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today considered ongoing projects to improve working conditions and conference facilities at duty stations in New York and Nairobi while addressing the financial needs of the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone.