Reiterating its request to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia to complete its work and facilitate its closure as expeditiously as possible, the Security Council today unanimously adopted resolution 2329 (2016).
Alarmed by the continuing deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the Syrian city of Aleppo, the Security Council demanded today that all parties ensure safe, immediate and unhindered access for the monitoring of evacuations from the city’s eastern districts and for the protection of civilians throughout the country.
Expressing deep concern at the security situation in South Sudan and the possibility of an outright ethnic war, the Security Council this afternoon extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) to 15 December 2017, strengthening its mandate with additional powers to protect civilians while expressing its intention to consider sanctions against those whose actions undermined peace, stability and security in the country.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said this morning that today he was saddened that his final briefing to the Security Council on the question of Palestine brought no sense of optimism for the future.
Adopting two texts without a vote this morning, the General Assembly committed to implementing the Secretary-General’s newly presented approach to cholera in Haiti, with speakers welcoming the “long-anticipated” move and its focus on the provision of material assistance to the victims of the nearly six-year-long outbreak.
The Security Council today renewed the mandate of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) until 16 December, determining that the situation in that country constituted a threat to international peace and security.
Ahead of an open debate on keeping weapons of mass destruction out of the hands of terrorists and other non-State groups, the Security Council called today for intensified efforts to ensure the development of a secure international framework for that purpose in the face rapid technological advances and increasingly ambitious malefactors.
Delegates in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today examined the 2016-2017 programme budget for special political missions, with many expressing high hopes for the new mission in Colombia charged with implementing the November peace accord, and others requesting more clarity on support provided by the Office of Special Adviser for Conflict Prevention, including in Burundi.
Adopting a draft resolution on global health and foreign policy that focused on the role of health employment in driving economic growth and helping Member States move toward sustainable development, the General Assembly also held a debate on the culture of peace and elected members to the Organizational Committee of the Peacebuilding Commission.
The 13-year-old United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) had proven a true “success story” in the history of United Nations peacekeeping operations, delegates in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) said today, as they considered a final budget request to withdraw Mission personnel and formally end its presence in the country by June 2017.
