Building and sustaining peace after the end of conflict requires holistic responses characterized by national ownership, economic investment and inclusive efforts to repair torn social fabrics, the President of Côte d’Ivoire told the Security Council today, as members discussed peacebuilding and sustaining peace in the context of post‑conflict reconstruction, security and stability.
Witness testimony has revealed countless abuses committed by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh), a senior United Nations counter-terrorism official told the Security Council today as he delivered his first-ever briefing on behalf of the investigative team recently established by the 15-member organ.
Although the United Nations and partners completed an epic aid operation in Syria this month, persistent violence and gaps in humanitarian access underline the critical need to renew the cross-border aid authorization set to expire in December, a senior humanitarian affairs official told the Security Council today.
In an emergency Security Council meeting today requested by Ukraine following the seizure of three its naval vessels by Russian Federation warships in a waterway near Crimea, the United Nations top political official urged restraint from both sides to prevent dangerous escalation.
Describing the situation in Burundi as calm but fragile, the senior United Nations official there told the Security Council today that after supporting a regionally-led inter-Burundian Dialogue process for more than three years, the time has now come for partners to re-evaluate how best to help the country out of its long-standing political impasse.
Strengthening cooperation with the African Union, including by providing it with adequate financing, is key to strengthening peacekeeping operations on the continent, speakers told the Security Council as it held a day-long open debate on that subject.
Reiterating the importance of convening a constitutional committee as a first step towards a political solution to the crisis in Syria, the Secretary‑General’s Special Envoy for that country told the Security Council today that the United Nations is open to any suggestions on the list of disputed attendees that allows inclusive participation by civil society.
Against the backdrop of a tenuous calm, the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process today warned the Security Council that the Gaza Strip remains on the brink of an armed conflict that holds catastrophic consequences for some two million impoverished Palestinians living there.
Delivering impassioned pleas on behalf of 14 million civilians teetering on the edge of famine in Yemen, senior United Nations and civil society leaders today briefed a largely unified Security Council on political and humanitarian steps forward, emphasizing that a new “window of hope” has now opened in that country’s devastating and overlooked war.
With a new roadmap for peace in South Sudan facing persistent challenges, the integral involvement of women is vital, along with international support to ensure that the country’s leaders fulfil their responsibilities, the head of United Nations peacekeeping told the Security Council today.
