Meetings Coverage

The General Assembly elected a total of 20 new members to the Economic and Social Council today who will begin their terms on 1 January 2026.

The General Assembly today elected Bahrain, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Latvia and Liberia as non-permanent members of the Security Council for a two-year term beginning on 1 January 2026.

Pledging to serve the international community as “an honest broker and unifier”, Annalena Baerbock of Germany was elected as President of the upcoming session of the United Nations General Assembly — the fifth woman to serve in that post in 80 years.

The Security Council today extended for one year the sanctions regime it has imposed on South Sudan, which includes asset freezes, travel bans and an arms embargo — even as some speakers expressed concern that the African position on this issue is being ignored and sanctions are getting misused as a tool for coercion.

The Security Council today adopted the draft of its annual report to the General Assembly, which covers the 15-nation organ’s work from 1 January to 31 December 2024.

The Security Council today met for a second consecutive day on Ukraine, as the Russian Federation accused European States of artificially keeping the issue in the spotlight and obstructing peace by arming Kyiv.

Rather than progress towards peace following direct negotiations between the Russian Federation and Ukraine in Istanbul earlier in May, the Security Council heard today that the month’s closing days have instead witnessed Moscow intensify attacks on its neighbour.

The Security Council today extended its previous authorizations concerning the arms embargo against Libya for six more months.

The two-State solution is on life support, the Security Council heard today from a senior United Nations official who called for urgent humanitarian assistance in Gaza while speakers for Israel and the State of Palestine accused each other of politicizing aid delivery.

Switzerland’s representative today urged the General Assembly’s Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) to stay the course on the United Nations’ nearly decade-long project to renovate its historic Geneva headquarters — a call that comes as those offices, along with UN Headquarters in New York, face the prospect of relocating staff to less expensive duty stations.