The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has met behind closed doors in an emergency session amid the war between Israel and Gaza but failed to achieve the unanimity needed for a joint statement. At least 1,100 people have already been killed since Hamas, the Palestinian group that controls the blockaded Gaza Strip, launched an assault on Israeli towns on Saturday and took hundreds of people hostage. Israel retaliated by declaring a state of war and pounding densely-populated Gaza, killing hundreds of people. The United States called on the council’s 15 members to strongly condemn Hamas. “There are a good number of countries that condemned the Hamas attacks. They’re obviously not all,” senior US diplomat Robert Wood told reporters after the session. “You could probably figure out one of them without me saying anything,” said Wood, in a reference to Russia, whose relations with the West have deteriorated sharply since its invasion of Ukraine. The council met for about 90 minutes and heard a briefing from the UN Middle East peace envoy Tor Wennesland. Diplomats said members led by Russia were hoping for a broader focus than condemning Hamas. A statement needs to be agreed upon by consensus. “My message was to stop the fighting immediately and to go to a ceasefire and to meaningful negotiations, which was told for decades” by the Security Council, said Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s UN ambassador. “This is partly the result of unresolved issues,” he said. The United Arab Emirates, which normalised relations with Israel as part of a landmark 2020 deal, said it expected more UNSC meetings on the crisis. “I think everyone understands that today, the situation is one of grave concern,” said the UAE Ambassador Lana Zaki Nusseibeh. “Many members of the Council believe that a political horizon leading to a two-state solution is the only way to finally solve this conflict,” she said. ‘Path to peace’ Neither Israel nor the Palestinian Authority (PA), based in the West Bank and a political rival to Hamas, attended the meeting because they are currently on the Security Council. The Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour called on diplomats to focus on ending the Israeli occupation. “Regrettably, history for some media and politicians starts when Israelis are killed,” he said. “This is not a time to let Israel double down on its terrible choices. This is a time to tell Israel it needs to change course, that there is a path to peace where neither Palestinians nor Israelis are killed.” In an open letter sent to UNSC members ahead of the meeting, three Palestinian human rights organisations said the UN’s inaction had enabled the latest violence and meant its members were “complicit” in what had happened. The Palestine-based organisations – Al-Haq, Al-Mezan Centre for Human Rights and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights – called on UN member states to address the “root causes and protect the Palestinian people from Israeli attacks”. Meanwhile, ahead of the meeting, Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan showed graphic pictures of Israeli civilians being taken captive by Hamas. “These are war crimes – blatant, documented war crimes,” Erdan told reporters. “This unimaginable, unimaginable atrocity must be condemned. Israel must be given steadfast support to defend ourselves – to defend the free world.” Home to some 2 million people and measuring about 365sq km (141sq miles), the Gaza Strip has been ruled by Hamas since 2007 since a brief war with forces loyal to the PA. Its assault in Israel coincides with US-backed moves to nudge Saudi Arabia towards normalising ties with Israel in return for a defence deal between Washington and Riyadh. “We don’t see any reason that should be off the table,” said Erdan. “We still want it to happen. We’ll do everything that we can to live in co-existence with all of our neighbours.”

A new, first-of-its-kind UN report demonstrates that progress towards achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 is worryingly slow, with limited information availability to drive evidence-informed policies. The report calls for urgent action and substantial investment on Goal 16 to expand data coverage that can help accelerate progress across all SDGs. A new UN global progress report on indicators under Sustainable Development Goal 16 (SDG16) released today shows that little or no progress has been made, with just seven years to go until 2030. Launched at the helm of the SDGs Summit and the 78th UN General Assembly, the report reflects that human rights commitments are not being met, violence is increasing, inequality is hindering inclusive decision-making and corruption is eroding the social contract. The report is the first-of-its-kind, jointly produced by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and the United Nations Human Rights Office. While there has been significant progress made on developing global methodologies and tools on governance, justice, and human rights-related indicators, the report also reveals that there are glaring data gaps. With SDG 16 being one of the goals with the least amount of data available, there is a pressing need to invest in high-quality, disaggregated data to leave no one behind. Such data will not only enable the achievement of the global targets for peace, justice, and inclusion, but will also be crucial to achieving targets across all the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. “To achieve the targets under Goal 16 by 2030, we need to rethink, recalibrate and redouble our efforts. That is why we are pleased to launch a brand-new UN report that exposes the success and failures of our collective effort to reach Goal 16 and provides us with the latest data to guide our future actions”, stated Haoliang Xu, Associate Administrator, UNDP.     “Peace and prosperity for people and the planet – the promise the international community made when adopting the SDGs – will only be possible with decisive and innovative action on SDG 16,” stated Ghada Waly, Executive Director of UNODC. “We must act now to strengthen the rule of law, make justice accessible to all, and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions around the world. I encourage the international community to use this report to develop practical solutions to create a peaceful, just, and inclusive global society.”  The new report is based on internationally agreed SDG 16 indicators that encompass a wide range of civil, political, economic and social rights, all anchored in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, whose 75th anniversary we celebrate this year.   “Human rights are at the heart of the 2030 Agenda and SDG 16 is the lever to effect transformative change for the rest of the Goals,” said UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Ilze Brands Kehris. “That is why this important report urges all States to accelerate progress towards achieving SDG 16, while also calling for new partnerships to stimulate the compilation and use of human rights statistics. Harnessing data on the protection of human rights defenders who denounce environmental, social or political rights abuses – as well on all people against discrimination, violence and lack of access to justice or participation – is crucial to delivering on our commitments to leave no one behind”.   Key Findings of the Report:    Violence is on the rise: Intentional homicides peaked in 2021 and armed conflicts claimed the lives of nearly 17,000 civilians, marking a 53 per cent increase from the previous year.   Increase in child trafficking: The percentage of detected child victims has risen from 28 per cent in 2014 to 35 per cent in 2021.   Access to justice remains limited: Less than half the population report crimes to authorities and the number of detainees continues to grow, with a rising share of unsentenced detainees.   Corruption affects individuals and businesses: Corruption is prevalent, with a higher prevalence in low- and middle-income countries.   Gender inequality: Women remain underrepresented in senior decision-making roles, facing glass ceilings in public service and the judiciary.   Increased risks for human rights defenders and journalists: Killings and enforced disappearances of defenders and journalists rose significantly in 2022.   Widespread discrimination: One in six people has experienced discrimination in the last year, with women, persons with disabilities, and racial minorities disproportionately affected.   With the world on track to achieving only 15 per cent of the SDGs, this report sounds a clear wake up call for urgent action to recalibrate our efforts in order to achieve more peaceful, just, and inclusive societies.

The Nature Crime Alliance launches today, hosted by World Resources Institute, with Norway, the United States, Gabon, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), UNODC, and Interpol joining major environmental groups as founding members.