The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) until 31 October 2018, calling for a “realistic, practicable and enduring” political solution to end the decades‑old conflict.
The Security Council, acting in parallel with the General Assembly today, took note of a raft of proposals by Secretary‑General António Guterres on ways to accelerate the United Nations “Peacebuilding and sustaining peace” agenda, as well as the Assembly’s decision to track progress towards its implementation. (For more information, please see Press Release GA/12014.)
Amid escalating tensions, outside interference and growing risks of potentially explosive miscalculations, from Gaza to Syria to Yemen, everyone in the region must “step away from the brink”, the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process told the Security Council today.
Amid the highest levels of violence against civilians since the start of the Syrian conflict in 2011, concrete action must be taken to turn pledges of aid into progress on the ground, the Security Council heard today.
With the adoption of landmark resolutions on the concepts of peacebuilding and sustaining peace imminent, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres urged Member States to strengthen their focus on conflict prevention, address its root causes and embark on a “quantum leap” in funding those critical activities, in a briefing to the Security Council this afternoon.
Contrary to common perception, young people were not a nagging problem, but rather, powerful agents for resolving and preventing conflict throughout the world, the Security Council heard today during an open debate on youth, peace and security that featured the first‑ever United Nations report on the topic.
Following the completion of the 14‑year‑long mandate of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) on 30 March, the Security Council stressed today that the Organization would remain an important partner for the West African nation as it continued to consolidate peace and stability in the future.
While circumstances had tested commitment to the peace agreement in Colombia, a united Council had helped to sustain resolve, demonstrating how it could effectively contribute to peace, members of that body heard this morning.
A technical team deployed by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to the site of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the United Kingdom had identified toxic agents consistent with that Government’s initial investigation, said the United Nations top disarmament official in a briefing to the Security Council today.
Casting a spotlight on the pressing needs of civilians in Raqqa and Rukban, the Security Council met this afternoon to hear a briefing on recent developments and discuss ways forward.
