Competition over land, water, minerals and other natural resources will increasingly fuel conflict unless efforts are stepped up to manage them for the benefit of local people and engender peace through sharing, the Secretary-General told the Security Council today.
Affirming that preparations for December presidential and legislative elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are well advanced, speakers in the Security Council this morning urged all stakeholders to reach consensus on outstanding issues to ensure that the poll results will be universally respected.
The Security Council today decided to extend, until 15 April 2019, modifications to the mandate of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), while also stressing that the extension will be the final one unless the parties meet specific benchmarks.
Co-Chairs of the Security Council’s recent mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo today outlined the activities undertaken and information gathered during the visit, especially in areas related to the country’s upcoming elections, its still-turbulent security situation and the process aimed at reforming and improving the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).
Continuing commitment by the new Government of Colombia to the peace process that ended the long civil war there is critical to overcoming the formidable challenges still remaining, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in the South American country told the Security Council today.
Civilians in Darfur continued to suffer the effects of a lack of progress in the peace process there, the Chair of the Committee that oversees sanctions on those impeding peace in the Sudanese region told the Security Council this afternoon.
The Security Council today decided to renew, for a period of one year, its prior authorization allowing Member States to inspect vessels on the high seas off the coast of Libya, given reasonable grounds for suspicion that they are being used for smuggling migrants or human trafficking.
As terrorist groups and their ever‑evolving tactics become increasingly diffuse and creative, United Nations counter-terrorism bodies — including the Security Council’s committees established to combat the phenomenon — must also remain flexible and adapt quickly, the 15‑member organ heard today, as the committees’ chairs provided an overview of their recent work.
A bright future awaits the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea if its leader, Kim Jong Un, makes good on his promise to completely denuclearize the country, the senior United States foreign affairs official told the Security Council today, emphasizing that Washington stands ready to facilitate such a process.
Against the backdrop of mounting chemical weapons attacks, disagreement over the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and continuing denuclearization talks on the Korean Peninsula, Heads of State and Government, as well as other senior officials convened in the Security Council today to present their visions of peace, security and a world ultimately free of the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction.
