Security Council: Meetings Coverage

The Security Council today expressed deep concern over the political situation in Burundi, the slow progress of the inter‑Burundian dialogue and the lack of engagement by the Government in that process.

After more than four years of work, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was still unable to verify that Syria’s initial declaration on its chemical weapons programme was accurate, delegates told the Security Council today, underlining that questions remained about the use of such weapons in that country.

With the United Nations Mission for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH) fully operational, preparations have already begun for that follow-up peacekeeping operation to make way for a new United Nations presence by the end of 2019 that would focus on the Caribbean nation’s long-term sustainable development, the Organization’s top peacekeeping official told the Security Council today.

The Security Council members, in an emergency meeting tonight, condemned the killing of civilians in Gaza during a peaceful protest that had erupted in violence.

A “quantum leap in collective engagement” was needed to meet the serious challenges facing United Nations peacekeeping operations, particularly in its largest deployments, the Secretary-General told the Security Council today in an open debate on improving the Organization’s flagship enterprise.

Intense fighting in besieged eastern Ghouta had claimed thousands of lives in the last few months alone, the top United Nations humanitarian official told the Security Council today, as he pressed parties to the wider conflict in Syria to implement resolution 2401 (2018) and allow unimpeded aid delivery throughout the country.

The Security Council renewed the mandate of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) today, extending it until 31 March 2019 with a more focused mandate to help protect civilians and support implementation of the New Year’s Eve political agreement, including preparations for elections later in 2018.

The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) until 31 March 2019, as previously set out in resolution 2158 (2014).

Developments on the ground could not be divorced from a backdrop of continued military occupation, regional turmoil and unilateral actions, the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process told the Security Council today, expressing concern about actions that undermined peace.

The United Nations senior-most humanitarian official and the head of the World Food Programme (WFP) came together today to urge the Security Council to play a greater role in breaking the link between hunger and conflict, stating that in doing so, it would make a significant contribution to famine eradication and sustainable development.