What's New

A new humanitarian crisis is unfolding at Lebanon’s border with Syria as thousands of people flee Israeli shelling linked to the war in Gaza, UN humanitarians said on Thursday, just as Israel premier Benyamin Netanyahu arrived in New York for the UN General Assembly.

The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting Wednesday on the escalating violence in Lebanon, said Slovenia's mission to the U.N., which holds the rotating presidency of the council.

"After consulting with the delegations... the Presidency intends to schedule the briefing on the situation in Lebanon for tomorrow, Wednesday September 25 at 6:00 pm (2200 GMT)," the mission said Tuesday, adding that U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres would speak at the meeting.

As Lebanon mourns the victims of a wave of Israeli airstrikes believed to have left hundreds dead, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday against a return to the “dark days of 2006” when full-scale war broke out, calling for an urgent de-escalation and the protection of civilians.

Speaking from Beirut in the aftermath of Lebanon’s “worst day in 18 years”, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) deputy representative in the country, Ettie Higgins, said that unless the violence stopped, the consequences could be “unconscionable”.

Tensions continued to ratchet up in the Middle East on Monday with reports of scores of retaliatory Israeli strikes on Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon which have reportedly left nearly 500 dead, and strikes in Gaza including on a refugee camp, UN humanitarians said.

From

Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Ravina Shamdasani

Location

Geneva

We are extremely alarmed by the sharp escalation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah and call on all parties to immediately cease the violence and to ensure the protection of civilians.

World leaders are at UN Headquarters in New York this Sunday where world leaders have just adopted the Pact for the Future by consensus - with a small group of just seven countries holding out, having failed to pass a last-minute amendment. The centrepiece of the Summit of the Future is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reimagine the multilateral system and steer humanity on a new course to meet existing commitments and solve long-term challenges.

It’s the busiest and probably most high-profile week at UN Headquarters in New York, where leaders from across the world come together to discuss global issues or highlight their country-specific priorities. 

The 79th session of General Assembly gets underway in mid-September and the centrepiece for many is the annual general debate. But what exactly is it?

Here’s what you need to know about the debate which begins on Tuesday, 24 September:

The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly to adopt a resolution that demands that Israel “brings to an end without delay its unlawful presence” in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

With a recorded vote of 124 nations in favour, 14 against, and 43 abstentions, the resolution calls for Israel to comply with international law and withdraw its military forces, immediately cease all new settlement activity, evacuate all settlers from occupied land, and dismantle parts of the separation wall it constructed inside the occupied West Bank.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for an end to the escalation in violence in the Middle East amid reports of a fresh wave of electronic device detonations in Lebanon which caused further deaths and injuries. 

International media reported that walkie-talkies used by members of the Hezbollah militant group blew up on Wednesday, a day after hundreds of pagers across the country exploded simultaneously.

The Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, deplores today’s attack across Lebanon which left thousands injured, many critically, and is confirmed to have killed at least nine, including children. In accordance with international humanitarian law, she reminds all concerned actors that civilians are not a target and must be protected at all times. Even one civilian casualty is one too many.