Nearly four years into the war in Ukraine, attacks continue to escalate and casualties keep rising — with figures from January to October 2025 already surpassing the total for all of last year — a senior UN official told the Security Council today, calling for intensified diplomatic efforts towards a just and lasting peace.
While a recent initiative triggering a General Assembly meeting each time a Security Council veto is cast has yielded more scrutiny and given non-members a stronger voice, fresher and even more radical changes — including reform of the Council itself — are now critical, delegates stressed today, as the 193-member Assembly considered the application of that highly controversial tool.
Sport gives people the courage to see an opponent "not as an enemy, but as a partner in a shared endeavour", the General Assembly heard today, as its President urged Member States to uphold the Olympic Truce — a "living metaphor" for peace at a time of escalating global tensions.
The Security Council was briefed today by the heads of three of its subsidiary bodies — which relate to Da’esh, Al-Qaida, UN counter-terrorism efforts and measures to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction to non-State actors — hearing that the threat posed by terrorism continues to evolve, especially in Africa, as malign actors exploit new technologies to pursue dangerous ends.
As Syria seeks to rebuild its economy and establish inclusive politics, the international community must support its efforts, lift all remaining sanctions and protect its sovereignty, the Security Council heard today from senior UN officials as well as concerned Member States.
The Security Council today debated strengthening regional counter-terrorism cooperation in West Africa and the Sahel — now the global epicentre of violent extremism — with speakers urging unified, long-term strategies that confront both immediate threats and the underlying drivers of instability, from poverty and weak governance to climate shocks and limited economic opportunity.
The United Nations has a slim window of opportunity to earn back public trust and burnish its global image — which is too often tarnished by the paralysis of its 15-member Security Council — the General Assembly heard today, as delegates warned that the Organization is widely judged by that most-headlined organ’s failure to end wars, prevent atrocity crimes and keep up with today’s emerging challenges.
As famine grips Sudan and Gaza and acute hunger surges worldwide, humanitarian law must be upheld, the use of starvation as a weapon stopped, and perpetrators held to account, speakers told the Security Council during a day-long debate on conflict-related food insecurity.
The General Assembly today elected Alexander De Croo of Belgium as the next Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for a four-year term. The Russian Federation objected to confirming the appointment by acclamation and requested a recorded vote. The Assembly approved the nomination with 172 votes in favour to none against, with 1 abstention (Russian Federation). Mr. De Croo will serve from 2 December 2025 to 1 December 2029.
The Security Council today endorsed the United States-backed "Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict", welcomed its establishment of the Board of Peace and authorized the Board and Member States working with it to establish a temporary International Stabilization Force in Gaza.