Security Council

Continued international support was crucial for Burundi as it faced multiple election processes this year and socio-economic challenges following the critical democratic transition, Charles Petrie, Executive Representative of the Secretary-General, told the Security Council today.

The following Security Council press statement on the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) was read out today by Council President Nawaf Salam (Lebanon):

With Nepal’s Maoists blocking the streets of Kathmandu in the fifth day of their general strike, the top United Nations official in that country warned the Security Council about the implications of the opposition party’s face-off with the Government, saying that the peace process “is at a delicate and critical moment” and the protests threatened to derail the four-year effort to hammer out a power-sharing agreement.

Security Council members welcomed the European Union’s wide-ranging work with the United Nations on peace and security, as well as the potential for even stronger cooperation due to the new Lisbon Treaty arrangements, following a briefing by the first occupant of the Union’s consolidated security directorship.

The President of the United Nations Security Council for May, Lebanon’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Nawaf Salam, today outlined a programme of work for the month, which will include debates, consultations and briefings on a broad spectrum of issues, and will also include at least one Council mission.

Calling on Morocco and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Rio de Oro to adhere fully to the military agreements reached with the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara, the Security Council today extended the mandate of that Mission until 30 April 2011.

The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in the Sudan for one year, until 30 April 2011, with the intention to renew it for further periods if required. Unanimously adopting resolution 1919 (2010), the Council called upon all parties to respect and abide without delay by their commitments under the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, agreements on Darfur and the October 2006 Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement.

Given the enormous efforts undertaken by the international community since the tragic 12 January earthquake, Haiti could return to the path of stability in two years if it received assistance in weathering the critical risks of the next 18 months, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in the country told the Security Council today.

The Security Council today expressed its intention to take action on a comprehensive set of indicators for use at the global level in tracking implementation of its resolution 1325 (2000) on women and peace and security. The Council will mark the tenth anniversary of the text’s adoption in October.

Affirming that the failure to prosecute persons responsible for acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia undermined international anti-piracy efforts, the Security Council called on all States this morning to criminalize piracy under their respective domestic laws.