During a day-long debate featuring nearly eighty speakers and presided over by the President of Chile, the Security Council today urged a common United Nations approach to inclusive development as a key for preventing conflict and enabling sustainable peace.
Condemning in the strongest terms the escalation of attacks perpetrated by Boko Haram in Nigeria and concerned about the growing humanitarian crisis and large-scale displacement of Nigerians, the Security Council demanded that the terrorist group “immediately and unequivocally” cease all hostilities, and without condition, release all hostages, including the 276 girls abducted in April.
The Disarmament Commission, in an organizational meeting this morning, elected the Chair for its 2015 substantive session and reviewed its agenda at the start of a new three-year cycle, which would be held from 6 to 24 April.
The General Assembly today set out a road map for the process of intergovernmental negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda, adopting without a vote a draft decision on that matter.
Ahead of an all-day debate on the Middle East today, a top United Nations political official called on Israelis and Palestinians to end a cycle of actions and rhetoric that were pulling them further away from negotiations for a lasting two-State solution to their conflict.
Recognizing peacebuilding as an important element of United Nations efforts in countries emerging from conflict, the Security Council today both underlined the primary responsibility of national Governments and other stakeholders towards such successful peacebuilding, and emphasized the importance of inclusivity in advancing relevant processes to ensure that the needs of all segments of society were being taken into account.
Côte d’Ivoire was making progress towards sustainable peace and economic recovery, but hurdles remained to improve security, reintegrate former soldiers, punish human rights abuses and carry out electoral reform ahead of presidential elections later this year, the head of the United Nations operation in that country told the Security Council today.
The Economic and Social Council this morning elected Mohamed Khaled Khiari (Tunisia) Vice-President of the 54-member body.
West Africa’s political landscape remained delicate as nations across the region continued to grapple with insecurity, terrorist threats and tensions ahead of a busy election cycle, the United Nations senior official there told the Security Council this afternoon.
The Security Council this afternoon called for immediate military action by the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in cooperation with United Nations peacekeepers, to “neutralize” a Rwandan armed group that continued to threaten civilians in the eastern part of the country after a 2 January deadline to disband.
