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Source: United Nations (video statements)

The President of the Security Council for the month of August, Danish Ambassador Christina Markus Lassen, told journalists in New York that the Council is expected “to make progress” on the election of a new Secretary-General this month and said this was “arguably one of the most important decisions of the Council this year.”

The Council held its first straw poll on the participating candidates during the month of July, and Lassen said it is expected to conduct another round of later this month.

She said Council members are “very excited about it” and added that there was, “a lot of suspense and excitement” in the room.

Lassen noted that Denmark was one of the Council members “who argued in favour when we were discussing the modalities of these elections for more transparency and for actually releasing the polls.”

She said that after agreeing to keep the straw poll results confidential, it was “unfortunate” that results had been leaked.

Turning to Ukraine, Lassen, who was briefing correspondents on the Council’s program of work for the month, said, “since we entered the Council a little more than a year or a half ago it has been one of our main concerns not surprisingly, we’re in the neighbourhood.”

She said, “Russian attacks on Ukraine keep getting more and more brutal and more and more important in numbers, so to say,” and pointed out that “May and June were already the highest numbers of civilian casualties so far in the conflict. And we haven’t seen the final numbers for July yet, but I fear that that would be again beating that horrible record.”

The Danish Ambassador said, “a just and lasting peace has to, of course, be in accordance with the basic principles of the Charter and respecting every state sovereignty and territorial integrity. So, we believe that a peace has to be comprehensive to be a lasting peace. And that would be the principle we keep we’re working from. And also, the reason what we try to do this month in the Council.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aQpCWdhzk4

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Highlights:
– Afghanistan
– Lebanon
– Occupied Palestinian Territory
– Venezuela

AFGHANISTAN

The World Food Programme (WFP) warns that funding shortfalls are forcing life-saving food and nutrition programmes to be scaled back at the very moment they are needed the most.

WFP said that child food insecurity rose to impact 47 per cent of the population in the first quarter of this year. Colliding crises, including conflict, unemployment, elevated food prices and reduced humanitarian funding, have driven this alarming rise in malnutrition.

The World Food Programme pointed out that this year, remaining nutrition programmes were crippled by a severe shortage of nutrition products driven by conflict in the Middle East and the closure of the Pakistan border for nine months. In Afghanistan nearly 3.7 million children are projected to suffer from acute malnutrition, while 1.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding women are also expected to be malnourished – without immediate investment, these figures are set to rise.

LEBANON

Today marks six years since the devastating Beirut Port explosion. Jean Arnault, Officer-in-Charge of the Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL), today expressed his unwavering solidarity with all those affected and paid tribute to their relentless pursuit of truth, justice, and accountability.

He said that efforts must be redoubled to advance the judicial proceedings and bring them to a conclusive outcome. To this end, he calls on all relevant actors to take the necessary steps to facilitate swift progress in the case.

Mr. Arnault also underscored the importance of advancing structural reforms to strengthen and safeguard the independence of the judiciary as a cornerstone of effective state-building and Lebanon’s reform agenda.

Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-08-04

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biRhq3qEURw

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Oil price surges have put international shipping in the spotlight in recent months. But what about the people behind the headlines? What happens to them when the news cycle moves on?

With up to 90 percent of all goods globally transported by sea, the United Nations International Maritime Organization (IMO) works to help commercial shipping and international trade ride the waves of war, piracy and geopolitics.

Growing up near the Panama Canal, Arsenio Dominguez was always fascinated by mighty cargo ships sailing through on their way to distant shores. Now Secretary-General of the IMO, his role is to defend seafarers and give shipping the recognition it deserves.

“Whenever you affect shipping, everybody else gets affected, even if you’re not part of the conflict. This is not good for anyone. This is not good for the global population, for the global economy, for politics. We need to protect shipping more.”

In this episode, Arsenio Dominguez reflects on years of back-to-back challenges for international shipping, on efforts to decarbonize, and shares why the power of positive thinking and the encouragement of his mother have always been his guiding lights.

[00:00] Introduction
[01:28] IMO and its’ role in global shipping
[02:18] Why shipping matters
[03:13] Seafarers trapped by conflict
[07:39] Progress towards seafarer evacuation
[08:58] Resilience during global crises
[12:25] Life as a seafarer
[13:59] Piracy, insurance risks, and the green transition
[18:36] The humanitarian side of shipping
[22:24] Growing up near the Panama Canal
[24:53] Family, resilience, and the roots of his optimism
[30:16] What keeps Arsenio awake at night
[33:57] Closing remarks

Listen to more Awake at Night episodes: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwoDFQJEq_0b6hu1e8oxsch9W0D7vkNqt

#podcast #UnitedNations #AwakeAtNight #IMO #Shipping #Maritime #Trade

About Awake at Night
Hosted by Melissa Fleming, UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, the podcast ‘Awake at Night’ is an in-depth interview series focusing on remarkable United Nations staff members who dedicate their career to helping people in parts of the world where they have the hardest lives – from war zones and displacement camps to areas hit by disasters and the devastation of climate change.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsGArn7T8i8

Source: United Nations (video statements)

@unitednations

Oil price surges have put international shipping in the spotlight in recent months. But what about the people behind the headlines? What happens to them when the news cycle moves on?

With up to 90 percent of all goods globally transported by sea, the United Nations International Maritime Organization (IMO) works to help commercial shipping and international trade ride the waves of war, piracy and geopolitics.

Growing up near the Panama Canal, Arsenio Dominguez was always fascinated by mighty cargo ships sailing through on their way to distant shores. Now Secretary-General of the IMO, his role is to defend seafarers and give shipping the recognition it deserves.

“Whenever you affect shipping, everybody else gets affected, even if you’re not part of the conflict. This is not good for anyone. This is not good for the global population, for the global economy, for politics. We need to protect shipping more.”

In this episode, Arsenio Dominguez reflects on years of back-to-back challenges for international shipping, on efforts to decarbonize, and shares why the power of positive thinking and the encouragement of his mother have always been his guiding lights.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/PlS127PJMJ8