Despite unprecedented and unexpected challenges due to resource constraints, the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals had begun to stand on its own for the first time since its founding, its President, Theodor Meron, told the Security Council today.
Recognizing the role youth could play in conflict prevention and resolution, the Security Council today urged the Secretary‑General and his Special Envoys to take their views into account in security‑related discussions, and to facilitate their equal and full participation at decision‑making levels.
The Security Council today failed to adopt two competing draft resolutions on the recent spate of violence in the Middle East — put forward by the delegations of the United States and Kuwait on behalf of the Arab Group, respectively — capping a month of protests and escalating tension on the ground and within the 15‑member organ itself.
The Security Council voted this afternoon to renew for 45 days the sanctions it imposed in 2015 on those blocking peace in South Sudan, with the option of considering further measures — including an arms embargo — if fighting continues amid ongoing mediation efforts, or if there remains no viable political agreement.
Events unfolding in and around Gaza marked the most serious escalation of violence since the 2014 conflict between Hamas and Israel, the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process told the Security Council today, as he called for intensified pressure on Israelis and Palestinians to advance a just and sustainable peace.
On the heels of largely successful democratic elections — viewed by many around the world as a historic turning point — Iraq still faced such challenges as continued terrorist threats and sectarian divisions, which must remain a priority on the international agenda, stressed the senior United Nations official in the country as he briefed the Security Council today.
The 2 million people in northern rural Homs, Douma and southern Damascus were among the most desperate in Syria, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs told the Security Council today, adding that only six inter‑agency aid convoys had reached those areas this year.
The conflict in eastern Ukraine was not only alive — with 1.6 million people displaced and escalating violence — but it embodied a broader threat to the global rules‑based order, with tens of thousands ceasefire violations recorded in 2018, the Security Council heard today, as it considered the situation for the first time in 15 months.
On the heels of Burundians voting for a new Constitution on 17 May, the country was now poised for a new important phase to settle differences, address pressing concerns, including sporadic violent incidents, and build a solid foundation for peace, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General told the Security Council today.
The Security Council today adopted a resolution condemning the starving of civilians as a method of warfare — as well as the unlawful denial of humanitarian access to civilian populations — with members welcoming it as a landmark expression of unity on those critical issues.
