The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Golan for six months until 31 December and requested the Secretary-General to ensure that the Force has the required capacity and resources to fulfil its mandate “in a safe and secure way”.
Against the backdrop of a two-year political deadlock in a 13-year-old conflict, Syria remains beset by ongoing violence, an economic crisis and a worsening humanitarian situation, the Security Council heard today, as the Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Envoy for the country urged sustained de-escalation towards a nationwide ceasefire, unhindered humanitarian aid via all modalities and parties’ meaningful engagement in a political process under UN auspices.
Following the completion of a technical assessment, the Secretariat of the United Nations has responded positively to a request of the National Electoral Council of Venezuela to deploy a UN Panel of Electoral Experts for the July 2024 presidential elections there.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the number of people displaced in Haiti between March and June 2024 increased by 60 per cent, from 362,000 to more than 578,000 people.
While renewed cooperation between Syrian authorities and the Declaration Assessment Team of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has borne positive results, the United Nations’ disarmament chief told the Security Council today that further cooperation is needed, as Council members debated whether the organ should continue to meet on this file despite slow progress in its resolution.
With absent political progress, ongoing violence and a worsening humanitarian situation in Syria, terrible risks could be on the horizon for that beleaguered country and the global community, the Secretary-General's Special Envoy warned the Security Council, as he called for a de-escalation of hostilities, starting in Gaza, and a comprehensive engagement among all stakeholders to arrive at a lasting solution to the 14-year Syrian conflict.
Results from the Global We the Women survey, produced by the UN Office for Partnerships and the polling company John Zogby Strategies, show that 86 per cent of women from 185 countries cite climate change and more than 50 per cent identify conflict as primary concerns for the next decade.
In Bangladesh, prior to the anticipated landfall of a cyclone in the southern parts of the country, the World Food Programme (WFP) swiftly dispatched cash assistance to 30,000 families — about 150,000 people — most at risk, as part of WFP’s flagship programme “Anticipatory Action” for climate shocks.
Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to the Eighth Annual Brussels Conference “Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region”, in Brussels today:
On Thursday, Israeli residents set fire twice to the perimeter of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem, while UNRWA and other UN agencies’ staff were on the compound. This is the second appalling incident against UNRWA in less than a week.
