What’s new? World leaders are participating in the UN General Assembly’s annualhigh-level session after a year in which the world organisation has failed to responddecisively to a series of crises and wars from Haiti to Myanmar. The UN looks evermore marginal to international crisis management.

Why does it matter? For all its flaws, the UN system retains unique crisis responsetools. UN relief agencies remain essential to mitigating conflicts like those in Afghanistanand Ethiopia. The organisation is also the only mediator available in cases rangingfrom the decades-long division of Cyprus to the Yemen war.

What should be done? This briefing sets out ten areas where the Security Counciland secretary-general can take initiatives to mitigate conflict, ranging from urgenthumanitarian crises to steps to address long-term challenges including the securityimplications of climate change.