On 18 May, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1533 (2004) concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo received a briefing from the Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo in connection with the Group’s final report in pursuance of paragraph 6 of resolution 2360 (2017).
A high-level debate on the root causes of the conflict in the Middle East and North Africa would be the Security Council’s signature event over the next month, Vassily A. Nebenzia (Russian Federation), Council President for June, said today, as he laid out the organ’s monthly programme of work at a Headquarters press conference.
The Security Council today failed to adopt two competing draft resolutions on the recent spate of violence in the Middle East — put forward by the delegations of the United States and Kuwait on behalf of the Arab Group, respectively — capping a month of protests and escalating tension on the ground and within the 15‑member organ itself.
The Security Council voted this afternoon to renew for 45 days the sanctions it imposed in 2015 on those blocking peace in South Sudan, with the option of considering further measures — including an arms embargo — if fighting continues amid ongoing mediation efforts, or if there remains no viable political agreement.
Events unfolding in and around Gaza marked the most serious escalation of violence since the 2014 conflict between Hamas and Israel, the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process told the Security Council today, as he called for intensified pressure on Israelis and Palestinians to advance a just and sustainable peace.
On the heels of largely successful democratic elections — viewed by many around the world as a historic turning point — Iraq still faced such challenges as continued terrorist threats and sectarian divisions, which must remain a priority on the international agenda, stressed the senior United Nations official in the country as he briefed the Security Council today.
On 29 May 2018, the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011) and 2253 (2015) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al‑Qaida enacted the amendments specified with underline and strikethrough in the entry below on 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.
The 2 million people in northern rural Homs, Douma and southern Damascus were among the most desperate in Syria, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs told the Security Council today, adding that only six inter‑agency aid convoys had reached those areas this year.
The conflict in eastern Ukraine was not only alive — with 1.6 million people displaced and escalating violence — but it embodied a broader threat to the global rules‑based order, with tens of thousands ceasefire violations recorded in 2018, the Security Council heard today, as it considered the situation for the first time in 15 months.
On the heels of Burundians voting for a new Constitution on 17 May, the country was now poised for a new important phase to settle differences, address pressing concerns, including sporadic violent incidents, and build a solid foundation for peace, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General told the Security Council today.
