Meetings Coverage

Stressing that institution-building was a critical part of peacebuilding in countries emerging from conflict, the Security Council acknowledged today the need to continue improving its support for those countries in order to sustain peace by creating national bodies that would promote democratic processes and socio-economic development.

“As we enter a new year, I am very concerned at the lack of progress towards peace between Israel and the Palestinians,” United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.

Member States must work with all parties in Haiti to help steer the electoral process towards a credible outcome, amid widespread accusations of fraud, so that it did not distract from earthquake-recovery efforts, Alain Le Roy, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations told the Security Council today.

Despite the international community’s recent efforts to resume stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, negotiations were still deadlocked and the goal of reaching a framework agreement on final-status issues remained elusive, B. Lynn Pascoe, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, said today.

Expressing deep concern over the continuing violence and human rights violations in Côte d’Ivoire, including against United Nations peacekeepers and civilians, as the post-election crisis continued, the Security Council today authorized the deployment of an additional 2,000 troops for the United Nations Operation in the country, known as UNOCI, until 30 June 2011.

The conduct of the referendum in Southern Sudan had been timely, fair, peaceful and credible in a way that no one could have predicted just a few months ago, Benjamin Mkapa, Chair of the Secretary-General’s Panel on the Referenda in the Sudan, said this morning as the Security Council heard briefings on the event, which took place between 9 and 15 January.

This year would be an important one for the United Nations and its work around the world, and the Economic and Social Council would be an important actor in addressing the eight strategic opportunities identified by the Secretary-General as capable of reaping the greatest gains, Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro said today.

Praising the appointment of Somalia’s new Cabinet in the Security Council today, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in the strife-torn country called for international support to help its Transitional Federal Government consolidate the gains of the Djibouti Peace Agreement as the end of the transition period approached.

With the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) set to end its four-year mandate in the Himalayan country tomorrow at midnight, the Security Council reaffirmed its support for the peace process and called on the Nepalese caretaker Government and all political parties to “redouble their efforts to continue to work together in the sprit of consensus to fulfil the commitments they made in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and other agreements”.

Welcoming the genuine contribution of the International Organization of la Francophonie to United Nations efforts in countries like Haiti, Côte d’Ivoire and Democratic Republic of the Congo, the General Assembly today invited the Secretaries General of those international bodies to continue exchanging information with a view to identifying new areas of cooperation.