Security Council: Meetings Coverage

More than 35 speakers today continued the call for accelerated progress towards women’s empowerment in conflict situations, as the Security Council concluded its open debate from last week on the women, peace and security agenda.

Expressing deep concern over social and political unrest in Guinea-Bissau, the Security Council, in a presidential statement (document S/PRST/2019/13) today, called on all actors in the country to preserve stability and to respect directives of the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

A recent election in Kosovo — characterized by high voter turnout and the victory of unconventional, opposition candidates — marked the most significant shift in the political landscape in more than a decade, the top United Nations official there told the Security Council today, while also touching on the long‑stalled deadlock between Kosovo and Serbia and a recent security incident involving two peacekeepers.

Welcoming the political transition and the launch of a countrywide peace process in Sudan, the Security Council today decided to extend the mandate of the African Union‑United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) by one year, until 31 October 2020.

The Security Council decided today to extend the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) for 12 months, until 31 October 2020.

Briefers and delegations welcomed a growing strategic partnership between the African Union and the United Nations in matters of peace and security at the Security Council today, while calling for measures to bolster the effectiveness of that cooperation.

Free, peaceful and transparent elections in 2020 are key to a stable future in Burundi, the Security Council heard today, as members diverged on whether the country — now emerging from its 2015 political crisis — still merits a place on the organ’s agenda.

The Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2492 (2019) today, urging States to recommit themselves to its women, peace and security agenda — now approaching its twentieth anniversary — including by creating safe environments for women leaders, peacebuilders, human rights defenders and political actors around the globe.

The Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process underlined today the urgent need for preventive diplomacy to ensure a fair and lasting peace as “new dangerous flashpoints emerge” in the region.

Whereas long-standing restrictions on the importation of weapons have largely prevented their flow into the hands of Al-Shabaab — a group responsible for ongoing terror attacks across the Horn of Africa — those measures require updating to better reflect reality on the ground, the head of the Security Council’s Somalia Sanctions Committee said today.