The recent “stuttering momentum” in delivering humanitarian aid to Syria’s besieged and hard-to-reach populations must be significantly expanded in the second half of 2016, the United Nations humanitarian chief told the Security Council today, warning that progress made to date was “but a trickle” compared with the country’s overwhelming needs.
The Security Council today extended its arms embargo, asset freeze and travel ban on the Democratic Republic of the Congo until 1 July 2017 and the mandate of the Expert Group assisting the Sanctions Committee through 1 August 2017.
The Organization’s intergovernmental advisory body that supports peacebuilding in countries emerging from conflict was improving its impact through more transparent and strategic working methods, improved partnerships with regional and subregional organizations and a focus on peacebuilding needs in the Ebola recovery, the Security Council heard today.
The Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women elected 11 members to its monitoring body today, replacing those whose four-year terms are set to expire at the end of 2016.
The Special Committee on Decolonization approved three draft resolutions today, welcoming the cooperative attitude towards Tokelau in the first text, and calling for greater efforts by both administering Powers and United Nations agencies, in the others, to implement the landmark 1960 Declaration on the granting of independence to Non-Self-Governing Territories and their peoples.
Despite persistent political, economic and security challenges, Afghanistan could make significant strides towards peace and stability in 2016, said Nicholas Haysom this afternoon in his final briefing to the Security Council as Special Representative of the Secretary-General for that country.
The Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen told the Security Council today that he would soon set out a proposal to advance the Yemeni peace talks, now entering their third month in Kuwait, as he called for concessions to be made against the backdrop of a potential humanitarian crisis.
The Special Committee on Decolonization today approved a draft resolution calling on the Government of the United States to assume its responsibility to expedite a process that would allow the people of Puerto Rico to exercise fully their right to self-determination and independence.
The Special Committee on Decolonization continued its discussion on the question of Western Sahara today, with the representative of the Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el-Hamra y Rio de Oro (Polisario Front) calling for intensified efforts to resolve the dispute over the Territory’s status, amid strong and repeated objections to his participation by the observer for Morocco.
Approving the appropriation of $7.86 billion for 15 peacekeeping operations for the 2016/2017 fiscal period, the General Assembly today adopted 25 resolutions and one decision contained in reports from its Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary).
