Security Council: No name

While 2013 had tested the international community’s commitment to breaking the deadlock between Israel and the Palestinians, 2014 could see a moment of truth regarding a two-State solution, the United Nations official responsible for coordinating the peace process told the Security Council today.

Expressing its grave concern at the worsening security situation and political divisions in Libya, the Security Council today reiterated its support for the North African country’s people and elected political institutions, underlining the importance of a single, inclusive national dialogue that could forge consensus around priorities for securing a transition to democracy.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Gérard Araud (France):

On 27 November 2013, the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 751 (1992) and 1907 (2009) concerning Somalia and Eritrea adopted revised Guidelines for the Conduct of its Work. These latest Guidelines reflect Security Council resolution 2111 (2013).

Iran’s attempted procurement of carbon fibre was a violation of its obligations under resolution 1929 (2010), as well as other resolutions, the Chair of Security Council Committee charged with monitoring sanctions on that country said today, as he briefed members on its latest report.

Considering the situation in the Sahel today, the Security Council reaffirmed its continued commitment to address the complex security and political challenges in that region, which were interrelated with humanitarian and developmental issues, as well as the adverse effects of climate and ecological changes.

Crimes in the Darfur region of Sudan would not stop unless the Security Council and parties to the Rome Statute showed robust determination to apprehend their authors, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said today, imploring the 15-member body to press Sudanese authorities to arrest and surrender persons against whom arrest warrants had been issued.

After 22 years of conflict, the people of Somalia were not only ready, but desperate to rise to the challenge of building strong State institutions, the senior United Nations official in that country said in a briefing to the Security Council today.

The Security Council today renewed and adjusted the arms embargo it originally imposed on Liberia in 2003, deciding that notification for the provision of non-lethal materials and associated training was no longer required.

Four of its five outgoing members — Azerbaijan, Guatemala, Morocco and Pakistan — briefed the Security Council this afternoon on the work of the subsidiary bodies they had chaired during their two-year tenure, highlighting significant gains made and the challenges ahead.