Search

The Security Council today extended for another year the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) ahead of a debate during which speakers — on International Women’s Day — placed women’s vital role front and centre in achieving a sustainable peace and security after years of conflict.

The cessation of hostilities in South Sudan, agreed in 2017, showed no sign of implementation, the Under‑Secretary‑General for Peacekeeping Operations told the Security Council today, saying a ceasefire was “a distant prospect” amid disagreements over its modalities and wider transitional security arrangements.

With Bosnia and Herzegovina’s general elections scheduled for 7 October, and in light of a worrying uptick in divisive nationalist rhetoric, the international community must remain united and coordinate its efforts to ensure a united, stable and prosperous country, the top international official in the federation told the Security Council this morning.

Real world examples of technology and innovation being deployed to build a more resilient Africa in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development were presented to the Economic and Social Council today as it concluded its annual three‑day integration segment.

Speakers expressed broad support today for the Secretary‑General’s proposals to reform the way the United Nations was helping Member States achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, while emphasizing national ownership of development strategies, as the Economic and Social Council wrapped up its three‑day 2018 operational activities segment.

In Syria, our humanitarian colleagues are concerned for the safety and protection of tens of thousands of people as fighting continues to be reported in several areas of northern rural Homs Governorate.  The United Nations calls on all parties, and those with influence over them, to ensure protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, and to allow for safe, sustained and unimpeded humanitarian access to all in need.

The General Assembly capped its high-level debate on peacebuilding and sustaining peace today with a consensus resolution welcoming the Secretary-General’s January 2018 report on those activities and deciding to further discuss his recommendations to address existing gaps.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development launched an action plan to expand employment opportunities for refugees to help them integrate into their host communities from the very start and contribute to the local economy.

Contrary to common perception, young people were not a nagging problem, but rather, powerful agents for resolving and preventing conflict throughout the world, the Security Council heard today during an open debate on youth, peace and security that featured the first‑ever United Nations report on the topic.