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.
Against a “bleak” landscape in Yemen marred by a worsening humanitarian crisis, intensified fighting and attacks cutting off vital food and trade routes, the international community must take swift, concerted action to prevent a widespread famine, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs told the Security Council today.
The Security Council today adopted a resolution aimed at enhancing the performance of peacekeeping personnel at all levels, both at Headquarters and in the field, stressing the need to improve posture, behaviour, leadership, initiative and accountability while effectively promoting international peace and security.
The Security Council expressed its outrage today over the fact that civilians continue to account for the vast majority of casualties in situations of armed conflict, and over its short- and long-term impact on them, from forced displacement to sexual and gender-based violence.
Warning that current trends are jeopardizing the possibility of a two-State solution for Israelis and Palestinians, the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process told the Security Council today that the international community must step in to change this grave trajectory.
Speakers in the Security Council today said a relatively stable security situation in Abyei makes it time to consider adjustments to the United Nations peacekeeping force there. Many stressed, however, that changes to its composition and mission must be preceded by thorough consultations with Khartoum and Juba.
Cautiously welcoming a week-old peace deal ending the fighting in South Sudan, Security Council members raised a range of concerns about subsequent clashes and the protracted humanitarian crisis, as high-level officials updated on recent developments today.
