While April 2024 marks two years since the United Nations-brokered truce — providing relief for the humanitarian situation long past its expiry — the crisis in and near the Red Sea continues to threaten progress and stability in Yemen, senior United Nations officials warned the Security Council today, as some delegates noted Iran’s role in supporting the Houthis and destabilizing the region.
Security Council
The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Vanessa Frazier (Malta):
In the wake of recent attacks on Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant — Europe’s largest — the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog warned the Security Council today that the first-ever war to be fought amid the facilities of a major nuclear power programme is bringing the prospect of nuclear accident “dangerously close”.
Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the Security Council briefing on the situation in the Middle East, in New York today:
A day after Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles from its territory towards Israel - most intercepted - the people of the Middle East are confronting a real danger of a devastating full-scale conflict, the UN chief told the Security Council today during an emergency meeting, as delegates urged all parties to exercise maximum restraint.
Western countries’ provision of military assistance to Ukraine is intended to support that country’s self-defence against the Russian Federation’s aggression, their representatives told the Security Council, refuting Moscow’s argument that such aid is turning Kyiv into a terrorist State.
The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Vanessa Frazier (Malta):
Alarmed by the Russian Federation’s intensified attacks across Ukraine, including on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant on 7 April and Kyiv’s largest power plant today, speakers at a Security Council meeting once again voiced concern about the rising death toll and deteriorating humanitarian situation in the country and demanded Moscow to cease its strikes against civilians and civilian infrastructure, as UN senior officials urged respect for international humanitarian law and an immediate end to the war.
Colombia remains a model for conflict resolution despite prevailing violence and other challenges, speakers told the Security Council today during a quarterly meeting on a country that has emerged from a decades-long war between the Government and a major rebel group.
The Security Council today decided to refer a renewed consideration of the State of Palestine’s 2011 application for United Nations membership to its Committee on the Admission of New Members, which would then meet at 3 p.m.