The Security Council today decided to downsize the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI), decreasing its military component from 5,437 to 4,000 personnel by 31 March 2016 amid calls to lift the sanctions against the Government, given its recent progress in consolidating peace and stability.
The situation of civilians in armed conflict zones — who were increasingly becoming targets themselves — remained “grim and bleak” even in the twenty-first century, stressed high-level briefers as the Security Council took on the issue of protection of civilians today.
The Disarmament Commission elected the Chair for its 2016 substantive session today, and reviewed the provisional agenda for the second year of its three-year cycle, to be held from 4 to 21 April.
The twenty-fifth Meeting of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea resumed today, electing by secret ballot one member of its International Tribunal and postponing an election to fill a vacancy in its Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.
Siege and starvation had become systematic in Syria, the Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs told the Security Council today during a meeting that heard calls for immediate, unhindered access for the delivery of humanitarian assistance to besieged and hard-to-reach areas of the country, as well as warnings that using starvation as a weapon amounted to a war crime.
Briefing the Security Council today, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa painted a mixed picture of the situation in the region, noting the completion of peaceful elections in several nations, as well as the continuing threats of terrorism, drug trafficking and organized crime.
Rising political tensions associated with the electoral process and the increasing number of security incidents and human rights violations posed a real risk of civil unrest and widespread violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Security Council heard today during its periodic briefing on the situation.
With the successful holding of its presidential election on 25 October 2015, Côte d’Ivoire had reached a critical milestone in consolidating long-term peace and stability while advancing national reconciliation and strengthening the security sector remained key challenges on the path to lasting stability, the Security Council heard during a briefing today.
Delays in implementing elements of Mali’s 2015 peace agreement could unravel the hard-won confidence built between the signatories to the accord, United Nations peacekeeping chief Hervé Ladsous warned today, while briefing the Security Council on the situation in that country.
The Security Council today stressed the importance of triangular consultations among the 15-nation body, the troop- and police-contributing countries and the Secretariat to improve the United Nations peacekeeping operations.
