Tag Archives: final

Security Council: UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon extended for a ‘final time’

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But the resolution stipulates it will then begin a one year “orderly and safe drawdown and withdrawal of its personnel”, in close consultation with the Lebanese Government.

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was established by the Security Council in 1978 to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the south and has played an important role in monitoring security in southern Lebanon ever since.

The mission’s ‘blue helmets’ are mandated to implement resolution 1701 which brought an end to hostilities between Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants in 2006.

Since the formal end of fighting between the two sides last November which devastated areas of southern Lebanon, UNIFIL has been supporting the national army’s (LAF) mission to establish full control of the south – but Israel continues to have a presence in violation of Lebanese sovereignty.

Continuing role during drawdown

During the withdrawal period after the end of next year, the resolution says UNIFIL is authorised to continue providing security and assistance to UN personnel, while continuing to “maintain situational awareness” around UNIFIL outposts and bases.

It will also “contribute to the protection of civilians and the safe civilian-led delivery of humanitarian assistance.”

Furthermore, the resolution calls on the Secretary-General to present options by 1 June next year for the future implementation of resolution 1701 to establish a permanent end to fighting between Israel and militants in Lebanon.

Negotiations went down to the wire this week, with the United States acting Permanent Representative telling Thursday’s meeting it was already time for Lebanese forces to assume greater responsibility, without UN peacekeepers.

Penholder France led negotiations over the mandate, and their representative told ambassadors that UNIFIL’s ongoing efforts were vital: “Any premature withdrawal could undermine or even weaken the efforts of the Lebanese Government” in the south, he said.

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The final straw? Plastic pollution talks get underway in Geneva

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Unless an international accord is inked, plastic waste is projected to triple by 2060, causing significant damage – including to our health – according to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

The UNEP-led talks follow a decision in 2022 by Member States to meet and develop an international legally binding instrument to end the plastic pollution crisis, including in the marine environment, within two years.

The scale of the problem is massive, with straws, cups and stirrers, carrier bags and cosmetics containing microbeads just a few of the single-use products ending up in our oceans and landfill sites.

Supporters of a deal have compared it to the Paris Climate Accord in terms of its significance. They have also pointed to the pressure allegedly being brought to bear against a deal by petrostates, whose crude oil and natural gas provide the building blocks of plastics.

“We will not recycle our way out of the plastic pollution crisis: we need a systemic transformation to achieve the transition to a circular economy,” UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen has insisted.

Circular argument

The aim of the deal is for it to encompass the full life cycle of plastics, from design to production and disposal “to promote plastic circularity and prevent leakage of plastics in the environment”, according to the text being used to guide the talks of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) gathering in the Swiss city.

At 22 pages, the INC document contains 32 draft articles which will be discussed line by line. The text is designed to shape the future instrument and will serve as a starting point for negotiations.

10-day stint

For 10 days from 5-14 August, delegations from 179 countries are due to pore over the INC text as they meet at UN Geneva, alongside more than 1,900 other participants from 618 observer organizations including scientists, environmentalists and industry representatives.

A key aim of the meeting is to share tried and tested ways of reducing plastic use such as non-plastic substitutes and other safer alternatives.

Ahead of the talks in Geneva, the respected medical journal The Lancet published a warning that the materials used in plastics cause extensive disease “at every stage of the plastics life cycle and at every stage of human life”.

According to more than two dozen health experts cited in the journal, infants and young children are particularly vulnerable. “Plastics are a grave, growing, and under-recognized danger to human and planetary health” and are responsible for health-related economic losses exceeding $1·5 trillion annually”, it noted.

To follow the plastic pollution talks live on UN Web TV, click here: https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k16/k16cqrvu2w 

Leading the talks in Geneva is Jyoti Mathur-Filipp, Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (or the INC) on Plastic Pollution, and Head of the INC Secretariat.

“In 2024 alone, humanity was projected to consume over 500 million tonnes of plastic. Of this, 399 million tonnes will become waste,” she said.

Latest forecasts indicate that plastic leakage into the environment will grow 50 per cent by 2040. “The cost of damages from plastic pollution could rise as high as a cumulative $281 trillion between 2016 and 2040,” she maintained. 

The road to an international accord:

Five negotiation sessions towards a plastics treaty have taken place so far:

  • The first was in Uruguay in November 2022.
  • Two more followed in 2023 – in France and Kenya.
  • In April 2024, the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) convened in Canada.
  • Most recently, discussions took place in Busan, Republic of Korea, at the end of last year. These talks were adjourned after delegations agreed to resume discussions in Geneva, under the leadership of the Chair of the Committee, Ambassador Luis Vayas Valdivieso of Ecuador.

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Space is not the final frontier – it is the foundation of our future: UN deputy chief

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Addressing delegates at a UN forum on peaceful uses of outer space, Amina Mohammed urged greater international cooperation as the world becomes increasingly reliant on satellites for everything from disaster response to climate monitoring.

“Space is not the final frontier. It is the foundation of our present,” she said.

“Without satellites orbiting overhead right now, global food systems would collapse within weeks. Emergency responders would lose their lifelines. Climate scientists would be flying blind. And our hopes of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) would be out of reach,” she added.

Expanding access to space

For nearly seven decades, the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space – the forum’s official name, has advanced international cooperation through five space treaties, sustainability guidelines and the Space 2030 Agenda.

Ms. Mohammed highlighted the UN’s efforts through the Office for Outer Space Affairs (OOSA), in helping make space more accessible – particularly for the more than half of UN Member States that still lack a satellite in orbit.

OOSA’s programmes are opening opportunities for youth and women in developing countries, cultivating a more inclusive new generation of space leaders.

It also supports countries in building their space capabilities through technical workshops and assistance for emerging programmes, having assisted Kenya, Guatemala, Moldova and Mauritius in launching their first satellites.

Similarly, it is helping countries like Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago and Ghana, use satellite data to create detailed digital models of entire cities, allowing faster disaster response and saving lives.

Space and sustainable development

Fresh from the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Sevilla, Spain, Ms. Mohammed stressed that the areas the UN defines as critical for sustainable development acceleration all depend on space technologies.

She also relayed a critical message from the conference: “In an era of constrained investment, we must align capital with high-impact solutions,” she said. “Space is one of them.”

“The view from space shows no countries, no borders – only one shared planet, one common home. Let that perspective guide you as you build the governance frameworks for space exploration and use,” she concluded.

“Let us make space a catalyst for achieving the SDGs.” 

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