Security Council: No name

The President of Djibouti told the Security Council today that persistent ills in the Horn of Africa, including food insecurity, conflict in Somalia and destabilizing actions by Eritrea, opened the prospects to wider crises there, and must be dealt with firmly. “The escalating tensions and conflicts, the breakdown of law and order so widespread in the Horn of Africa, could be but a prelude to a much worse situation, unless its many causes are sufficiently and seriously addressed,” he said.

Israeli-Palestinian proximity talks had officially commenced under United States mediation, but they faced “powerful elements who will seek to derail progress”, Robert Serry, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Personal Representative of the Secretary-General, told the Security Council today.

Kosovo remained stable but the potential for volatility remained because little progress had been made in reconciling the ethnic Albanian and Serb communities there, Lambert Zannier, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, told the Security Council today. “The absence of a significant process of reconciliation between the communities continued to be a challenge, which, coupled with economic difficulties, continued to present the risk of social unrest,” he said.

With the Transitional Federal Government in Somalia making progress building its institutions and reaching out to armed groups, it was important to redouble efforts for stability in light of the remaining enormous challenges, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General told the Security Council this morning.

The Security Council this morning decided to extend the current mandate of the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT) for just two weeks, until 26 May, while options for a revised mandate are thoroughly considered.

The Security Council this morning renewed the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) until 15 September 2010, in line with a request from the Government of the Himalayan country, stressing that arrangements should immediately be made for withdrawal of the mission by that date.

On 11 May 2010, the Security Council Al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee approved the addition of the two entries specified below to its Consolidated List of individuals and entities subject to the assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo set out in paragraph 1 of Security Council resolution 1904 (2009) adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations.

Participants in an open debate in the Security Council today stressed the continued need for a unified, global fight against terrorism and welcomed efforts to make the Council’s three counter-terrorism committees more effective, coordinated and transparent, following briefings by their Chairpersons.

The following Security Council press statement on Burundi was read out today by Council President Nawaf Salam ( Lebanon):

Continued international support was crucial for Burundi as it faced multiple election processes this year and socio-economic challenges following the critical democratic transition, Charles Petrie, Executive Representative of the Secretary-General, told the Security Council today.