Despite recent reductions in hostilities in parts of Syria — and some acceleration of humanitarian aid delivery — the United Nations and its partners still lack comprehensive access to millions more in need of assistance, the Organization’s senior humanitarian affairs official told the Security Council in a briefing today.
Officials in Damascus have rejected the United Nations formulation of a list of participants to make up a constitutional committee intended to move the political process in Syria forward, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria told the Security Council today.
Nearly two decades after the Security Council’s adoption of a landmark resolution on women, peace and security, the head of the United Nations entity responsible for gender equality warned today of “systemic failure” to integrate women into such critical processes as peacekeeping, mediation and peace negotiations, as the 15-member organ convened its annual open debate on the issue.
Arguing that impunity for horrific violations against the Rohingya in Myanmar is a threat to international peace and security, the head of a human rights fact‑finding mission this afternoon urged the Security Council to ensure accountability for the crimes.
To stem the growing threat of famine in Yemen, the international community must act urgently to unblock imports, ensure distribution of aid and counteract a lack of foreign exchange in the war-torn gulf nation, the United Nations top humanitarian affairs official told the Security Council this afternoon.
While the United Nations presence in the Central African Republic has achieved some of its immediate goals – preventing a return to civil war and stopping a coup d’état – much work is needed to stabilize the country’s security situation, combat armed groups and support millions in need of humanitarian assistance, the Organization’s senior official told the Security Council today.
Ahead of the planned drawdown of the joint African Union and United Nations peacekeeping operation in Darfur, the head of that mission set out before the Security Council today a concept for continuing international support for the consolidation of stability in that troubled western region of Sudan.
Despite insecurity and violent extremism spreading across Mali’s borders, the United Nations peacekeeping chief cited reasons for hope, including Mali’s successful presidential elections, the signing of the new Pact for Peace and a drop in peacekeeper deaths, as he briefed the Security Council today.
Gravely concerned over escalation of violence on the Gaza border and settlement activity in the West Bank, the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process told the Security Council today that the international community could no longer allow prospects for a two‑State solution to slip away.
The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria, briefing the Security Council today on efforts to push forward a constitutional committee aimed at ending the eight-year-long conflict in Syria, also announced his decision to step down at the end of November, while vowing to vigorously pursue a balanced, fair and inclusive political solution “until the last hour” of his tenure.
