Security Council: No name

As 2012 drew to a close, momentum was slipping for a two-State solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and tensions on the ground were worsening after the upgrade of Palestinian status in the General Assembly last month, the United Nations political affairs chief told the Security Council today, calling on all stakeholders to put bitterness aside to focus on the hard, practical work of forging an agreement in the year ahead.

The Security Council this morning extended until 30 June 2013 the mandate of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), which monitors the ceasefire in the Golan Heights between Israel and Syria, expressing grave concern at recent violations by the Syrian Armed Forces in the mission’s area of operations.

As the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) neared its 31 December 2012 completion, the Security Council this morning commended the country for the “remarkable achievements” of the past decade, underscoring the importance of continued support to the fledgling nation as it embarked on the next stage of its development.

Adopting two resolutions today, the Security Council refined the recently separated sanctions regimes on Al-Qaida and the Taliban, strongly urging Member States to consult with the Government of Afghanistan on requests for the listing and delisting of those targeted for the latter measures in order to ensure coordination with Afghan reconciliation efforts.

The Security Council decided today to extend the terms of office of 21 judges of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, established in the wake of the Balkans conflicts in the 1990s.

The value of early and sustained action by the Security Council was dramatically affirmed during Germany’s tenure, which was dominated by momentous change in the Arab world, the country’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations said at a press conference today.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Mohammed Loulichki (Morocco):

The head of the committee charged with monitoring sanctions imposed on Iran over its nuclear programme reported this afternoon on alleged violations of those measures, as some Security Council members called for investigation into reports of Iranian arms flows to conflict areas in its region and warned of dangers posed by the country’s continued stonewalling of the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency.

Ongoing reported violence in Darfur could constitute new charges of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court told Security Council members today, urging swift action to save lives and repair a war-weary region by bringing the perpetrators to justice.