The Security Council today extended until 30 April 2017 the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), reaffirming its commitment to help the parties achieve a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution that would provide for self-determination.
Concerned by escalating violence and political gridlock in eastern Ukraine, senior officials of the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) called on all parties to the two-year old conflict to immediately lay down their weapons and make good on their commitments under the Minsk agreements, during a Security Council meeting this afternoon on the subject.
The situation in Syria was at risk of slipping backwards if the international community failed to work towards a sustainable political solution that would allow a more effective humanitarian response, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator told the Security Council today.
Welcoming Côte d’Ivoire’s remarkable progress towards lasting peace, stability and economic prosperity, the Security Council renewed the mandate of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in that country for a final period, extending it until 30 June 2017.
Inclusivity, multilingualism and a balance between new and traditional forms of communications were critical in the work of the Department of Public Information, especially around the Sustainable Development Goals, Under-Secretary-General for Public Information Cristina Gallach said today, as the Committee on Information concluded its general debate.
New technological platforms should be leveraged by the Department of Public Information, the lead communications body of the United Nations, bearing in mind the digital divide that still existed in many parts of the world, speakers told the Committee on Information today.
Stressing that sustaining peace was an inherently political process requiring coherent, international coordination and support, the General Assembly adopted a wide-ranging resolution today aimed at improving the United Nations peacebuilding architecture before holding a day-long debate on the subject.
Expressing deep concern about the high human cost and suffering caused by armed conflict, the Security Council stressed today that a comprehensive approach to transitional justice and an accountable security sector were critical to consolidating peace, reducing poverty and preventing countries from relapsing into conflict.
Disseminating information on the Sustainable Development Goals, building awareness around the need for a humane global approach to refugees, and explaining the impacts of the work of the United Nations during its upcoming leadership change were three priorities for the Department of Public Information in 2016, the Committee on Information heard today, as it opened its thirty-eighth session.
The arrival in Juba of Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-in-Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) leader and First Vice President-designate Riek Machar should clear the way for a real transition in South Sudan, but the overall situation in the country remained very worrying, the head of United Nations peacekeeping told the Security Council today.
