Calling on the Myanmar Government to end the excessive military force and intercommunal violence that had devastated the Rohingya community in Rakhine State, the Security Council this afternoon urged the implementation of agreed‑upon mechanisms to assist return of those who have fled and to ensure access for humanitarian aid.
Urgent, decisive action was needed by leaders in the Central African Republic in partnership with the international community to reverse a new spiral of violence that interrupted progress in the political transition, the top United Nations official there told the Security Council this morning.
The number of forcibly displaced people around the world was now approaching 66 million, and that sharp rise reflected the weakness of international cooperation in responding to the crisis, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees told the Security Council today.
Refugees, trafficking in persons and other effects of current conflicts would be a thematic focus of the Security Council in November, Sebastiano Cardi (Italy), Council President for the month, said at a press briefing today at Headquarters.
The Security Council today reiterated its strong condemnation of the recruitment and use of children by parties to armed conflict, as well as their killing and maiming, rape and other forms of sexual violence.
On 31 October 2017, the Committee renewed the listing and enacted the amendments specified with strikethrough and underline in the entry specified below on its List of individuals and entities subject to the assets freeze, travel ban and other measures relating to attempts to illicitly export petroleum, including crude oil and refined petroleum products, from Libya (the Libya Sanctions List), set out in paragraphs 15 and/or 17 of Security Council resolution 1970 (2011) and/or paragraph 19 of resolution 1973 (2011), or paragraph 10 of resolution 2146 (2014) as extended and modified by paragraph 2 of resolution 2362 (2017), adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations.
Despite progress in the de‑escalation of fighting in certain parts of Syria, civilian suffering, as well as impediments to aid delivery, continued, the United Nations top humanitarian official told the Security Council this afternoon, stressing it was crucial to ensure that cross-border delivery of aid was maintained.
Innovative actions would be needed to support the Joint Force of the Group of Five for the Sahel (Sahel G-5) countries (Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mauritania and Niger) as well as development efforts, United Nations Secretary‑General António Guterres told the Security Council this morning, stressing that the situation in that region was a challenge for all.
The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President François Delattre (France):
Normative frameworks had been established and global awareness of the urgency of ending sexual atrocities and empowering women in conflict situations was growing, but progress on the ground must be accelerated, speakers told the Security Council in an all-day debate today.
