As the Sixth Committee (Legal) continued its resumed session today to consider the International Law Commission’s recommendation to codify a convention on crimes against humanity, speakers deliberated over two clusters of draft articles addressing measures States should take on national platforms regarding those crimes, while also exploring the methods of international cooperation between countries when considering extradition of alleged offenders.

Officials with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) say they have asked all staff - both men and women - to work from home, following the Taliban’s decision to ban Afghan women from employment with the Organization. An operational review is under way to plan for all possible outcomes.

Deprivation of access to education on sexual and reproductive health and rights results in a range of harmful practices — such as early and child marriages, unwanted pregnancies and high levels of gender-based violence — which have an enormous adverse effect on sustainable development, speakers stressed today, as the Commission on Population and Development continued its fifty-sixth session.

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

As the Sixth Committee’s (Legal) resumed session on its agenda item “Crimes against humanity” entered its second day, delegates grappled with the challenge of defining such crimes in a way that balances facilitating future development on the one hand and establishing legal certainty on the other — all in service of preventing and punishing some of the most serious international crimes.

Education is a door-opener and a life-changer, especially for girls and women, senior United Nations officials stressed, as the Commission on Population and Development opened its fifty-sixth session, against the backdrop of a global learning crisis.

The United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) has completed deliveries of critical supplies to two of the Team Sites east of the berm at Tifariti and Mehaires, with the support of the Frente POLISARIO, as well as Morocco. These deliveries will enable the sites to remain operational.

​​​​​​​The Security Council today discussed the risks posed by the illicit and unregulated export of weapons and military equipment during an open debate convened by the Russian Federation on that theme, as some members traded barbs on the supply of weapons to States in the context of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

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

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of AnneMarie van den Berg of the Netherlands as Assistant Secretary-General for Supply Chain Management, in the Department of Operational Support.