All efforts by the Technical Secretariat of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to organize the next round of consultations with Syria continue to be unsuccessful, a senior official of the United Nations for disarmament affairs informed the Security Council today, underscoring yet again the urgent need for full cooperation by Damascus.

The Security Council today failed to reauthorize the cross-border mechanism for the delivery of humanitarian aid into Syria, unable to reach consensus on either of two resolutions that would have kept open the critical lifeline to millions of people following the expiry of its mandate on 10 July.

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

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Barbara Woodward (United Kingdom):

The United Nations’ humanitarian partners have concluded an initial damage assessment following the recent operation by Israeli forces in the Jenin refugee camp. They report that 460 housing units were damaged, at least 40 families remain displaced and the camp remains largely without running water.

The new Permanent Representative of Dominica to the United Nations, Philbert Aaron, presented his credentials to UN Secretary-General António Guterres today.

The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed Mr. Marc-André Franche of Canada as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka, with the host Government’s approval.

Half-way to 2030 with only 12 per cent of the Sustainable Development Goals targets on track, Member States must overcome the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and multiple worldwide crises that threaten decades of progress in order to achieve the Global Goals, speakers stressed, as the high-level political forum on sustainable development, held under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council, opened today.

The parties to the conflict in Yemen must immediately stop military provocations and agree to a sustainable nationwide ceasefire, address economic priorities and restart an intra-Yemeni political process under United Nations auspices, the Organization’s senior official for that country told the Security Council today, as he spotlighted positive developments and urged members to encourage the parties to work along the path he outlined.

The Security Council decided today to extend, until 14 July 2024, the mandate of the United Nations Mission to Support the Hudaydah Agreement (UNMHA), established on 16 January 2019 following intra-Yemeni peace consultations held in Stockholm, Sweden.