Despite progress in regaining territory held by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh), its chokehold persists in communities in the Middle East while it seeks new members, from West Africa to Asia, top counter-terrorism officials told the Security Council today.
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The mounting military escalation in north-west Syria has spiked dramatically in recent days, resulting in a level of civilian displacement and carnage long feared by the international community, the top United Nations official in the country said today during a late-breaking meeting of the Security Council.
On 6 February 2020, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1533 (2004) concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo added the following individual to the List of Individuals and Entities subject to the measures reaffirmed by paragraph 2 of resolution 2360 (2017):
Albania’s Prime Minister outlined the priorities of his country’s 2020 Chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) today, assuring the Security Council that making a difference on the ground, respecting commitments and pursuing dialogue are hallmarks of its approach to addressing tensions in Ukraine, Nagorno-Karabakh and Transdniestria.
The widespread proliferation of approximately 1 billion small arms in circulation around the world — to terrorists, parties to intra-State conflict, organized criminals and warring gangs — continues to pose a major threat around the globe, the senior United Nations disarmament official told the Security Council today.
On 4 February 2020, the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011) and 2253 (2015) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al‑Qaida, and associated individuals, groups, undertakings and entities approved the addition of the entry specified below to its ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions List of individuals and entities subject to the assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo set out in paragraph 1 of Security Council resolution 2368 (2017), and adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations.
Meetings to consider children in armed conflict, as well as transitional justice will be among the significant Security Council events to be held in February, Marc Pecsteen de Buytswerve (Belgium), its President for the month, said at a Headquarters press conference today.
The Security Council today decided to renew its Central African Republic sanctions regime for six months — including an arms and ammunition embargo, with a number of exemptions — while renewing the mandate its related Panel of Experts for seven months.
Cooperation between the United Nations and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is vital to maintaining international peace and security and combating global menaces such as climate change and the spread of terrorism, the heads of the two organizations told the Security Council today, as some delegates described the regional bloc’s consensus-building approach, known as the ASEAN Way, as an example to follow.
The senior United Nations official in Libya expressed outrage in the Security Council today over the conduct of actors inside and outside the country who nod towards peace yet double down on military actions, as delegates called for an end to foreign meddling and for upholding the arms embargo as part of a broader plan to stop the spiralling conflict.