Whereas long-standing restrictions on the importation of weapons have largely prevented their flow into the hands of Al-Shabaab — a group responsible for ongoing terror attacks across the Horn of Africa — those measures require updating to better reflect reality on the ground, the head of the Security Council’s Somalia Sanctions Committee said today.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of David McLachlan-Karr of Australia as his Deputy Special Representative in the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), where he will also serve as United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator.

The ranking United Nations official in the Central African Republic appealed to the Security Council today to renew the mandate of the Organization’s peacekeeping mission in that country with a focus on elections planned for 2020 and 2021, as well as other challenges.

The global demand for legal training met by the Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law must be matched by funding for its activities, the Sixth Committee (Legal) heard today as it began its consideration of the Programme.

Following is the text of UN Secretary‑General António Guterres’ video message for the conference:  “Aral Sea Region — Ecological Innovations and Technologies Zone”, in Nukus, Uzbekistan today:

The recent escalation of hostilities in north‑east Syria — following a Turkish military operation launched on 9 October — has exacerbated the safety and well‑being of the area’s 3 million residents, a top United Nations humanitarian official warned the Security Council today, adding that nearly 180,000 people have fled that border region in just two weeks.

Delegates highlighted the role of the Scientific Committee in informing radiation safety standards for the entire international community, as the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) approved a draft resolution on the effects of atomic radiation today.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at the United Nations Day Concert, in New York today:

The illicit circulation of small arms and light weapons around the world is having humanitarian and socioeconomic consequences that are undermining sustainable development and efforts to prevent and resolve conflicts, delegates said today as the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) continued its thematic debate on conventional weapons.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has launched a four-year Global Strategy for Sustainable Energy to promotes the transition to clean, renewable energy at refugee camps and hosting sites, where more than 90 per cent of refugees have limited access to electricity.