Meeting in the hours following Israel’s air strikes against targets in Iran, the Security Council today heard — and its members largely agreed — that de-escalation and diplomacy are imperative to avoid further strain in a region already groaning under the weight of compounding conflict.
Attacks by Ansar Allah — often referred to as the Houthis — against Israel and subsequent retaliatory strikes on infrastructure in Yemen continue, the head of the UN presence there told the Security Council today, as he urged humanitarian, economic and political action to alleviate the crisis before it is too late.
As the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals nears the end of its mandate, speakers in the Security Council today called for enhanced cooperation from Member States to ensure justice for perpetrators of atrocities, war crimes and genocide committed in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, while some urge that the “outdated” instrument be shuttered.
The General Assembly today considered the annual report of the Security Council for the period covering 1 January to 31 December 2024, with delegates assessing its functionality and also highlighting various aspects of the organ’s operations that require improvement, particularly those bordering on its primary responsibility of maintaining international peace and security.
With parliamentary elections in Iraq scheduled for 11 November, and the drawdown of the United Nations Mission there slated for the following month, the senior United Nations official in the country told the Security Council today of the progress Iraq has made — while he and other speakers also called for urgent efforts to resolve issues involving Baghdad’s relationship with the Kurdistan region and Kuwait.
Briefing the Security Council today on the latest developments in Central Africa, a senior United Nations official described electoral gains coupled with security setbacks, as Council members welcomed the former, expressed concern over the latter and noted the additional threat posed by financial constraints on humanitarian operations.
Welcoming the Syrian interim authorities’ continued engagement to address chemical-weapons issues long left unresolved by that country’s previous Administration, the United Nations’ disarmament chief told the Security Council today that international support is needed to fully realize the elimination of Syria’s chemical-weapons programme.
The Security Council today failed to adopt a resolution aiming to ameliorate the plight of civilians in Gaza, as the United States vetoed the measure despite affirmative votes by the other 14 members of the 15-nation organ.
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.
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.
