The senior United Nations disarmament official urged the Security Council to unite and ensure that the use of chemical weapons shall never be tolerated, as she briefed the 15-member organ during a videoconference today on efforts by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to verify the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles and production facilities.

Following is the text of UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s video message at the Global Engagement and Empowerment Forum on Sustainable Development, held today:

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

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the opening meeting of the 2021 session of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, held today:

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message for the International Day of Human Fraternity, observed today:

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message to the fiftieth anniversary of the International Institute of Humanitarian Law, observed today:

The Security Council underscored today the importance of addressing the conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism and violent extremism in West Africa and the Sahel, as well as the need for a holistic approach to address the causes of intercommunal violence in the region.

The Peacebuilding Commission will seek to strengthen its advisory, bridging and convening roles, with a focus on engaging all actors to prioritize “impact” in support of national peacebuilding objectives, its new Chair said today, outlining the body’s work plan for 2021.

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

A report by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan finds increasing reports of torture in that country’s detention facilities.  Almost a third of those detained for security or terrorism-related offences reported torture or other ill-treatment.