Security Council: No name

The Security Council, acting by consensus today, decided to renew for 12 months authorizations allowing international naval forces to join in the fight against piracy in the waters off the coast of Somalia.

The senior United Nations disarmament affairs official warned today that the Security Council must remain united against the use of chemical weapons, a crime that must always be viewed as a violation of a “deeply held taboo”.

Voting to extend, until 15 February 2020, the mandate of the Panel of Experts who oversee the sanctions targeting the illicit export of oil from Libya, the Security Council decided that perpetrators of gender-based violence may also be subject to the measures.

On 2 November 2018, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1518 (2003) approved the removal of the following entity from its List of Individuals and Entities subject to the assets freeze set out by paragraphs 19 and 23 of Security Council resolution 1483 (2003) adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations:

Outlining her continued activities to fight impunity for grave crimes committed since 2011 in Libya, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court today asked the Security Council to back up its support with effective action, particularly regarding the arrest of outstanding fugitives from justice.

The Security Council will hold more than 20 meetings in November, including important open debates on peacekeeping operations in Africa and the strengthening of global multilateralism, its President for the month said at a Headquarters press briefing today.

The Security Council decided today to extend the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) until 30 April 2019, calling upon the parties to the dispute over that territory to engage constructively in resumed talks planned for the end of 2018.

Reporting civilian casualties again on the rise and separatist elections planned outside of the long-stalled Minsk agreements in eastern Ukraine, the United Nations top political-affairs official today called on all parties to recommit to swift implementation of those agreements to end the conflict.

The Security Council today adopted a resolution condemning attacks by armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and their role in exacerbating the country’s ongoing Ebola outbreak, while demanding full, safe, immediate and unhindered access for the humanitarian and medical personnel working to save lives and prevent the virus from spreading across the region.

Despite recent reductions in hostilities in parts of Syria — and some acceleration of humanitarian aid delivery — the United Nations and its partners still lack comprehensive access to millions more in need of assistance, the Organization’s senior humanitarian affairs official told the Security Council in a briefing today.