To begin with, managing freshwater, the elixir of life, has once again been put at the top of the unresolved scheme of the world. Several conferences, workshops and hybrid consultations are being organised to set the agenda for the Third UN Water Conference to be held in early December this year in the UAE. Meanwhile, the UN General Assembly sponsored the International Water Decade, designed to galvanise collaborative action on water-related challenges, which ends in 2028 and is largely off track.
Amid sustained criticism of the failure of multilateralism, the first quarter of the 21st century has seen multilateral organizations expand in both scope and mandate.
The United Nations is not aware of any biological weapons programmes in Ukraine, a senior official in the Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) reiterated in a briefing to the Security Council.
Since invading Ukraine in February, the Russian government has tirelessly worked to convince others of the existence of an illicit US-Ukrainian bioweapons program. It’s brought the claims to the UN Security Council, the Biological Weapons Convention, and other international venues, sometimes more than once.
‘Poor Man’s Atomic Bomb’ Made of Dual-Use Biological, Chemical Material Replaces Nuclear Weapon for Non-State Actors, First Committee ToldSecuring High-Containment Biological Labs Can Avert Next Pandemic