The Security Council extended its sanctions regime against the Central African Republic today, consisting of an arms embargo, travel ban and asset freeze on listed individuals and entities, until 31 January 2019, and the mandate of the Panel of Experts facilitating those measures until 28 February 2019.
The United Nations and its partners faced serious challenges in accessing 13.1 million people requiring assistance in Syria, the Deputy Relief Coordinator told the Security Council today, stressing that in the last month alone, “not one convoy has been able to deploy” to besieged and hard-to-reach areas.
The Security Council today adopted a presidential statement that welcomed positive developments in several West African countries, but expressed its serious concern over the challenging security situation in the region and the Sahel.
The Security Council today renewed the mandate of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) for six months and endorsed implementation of recommendations contained in the Secretary-General’s strategic review of the mission.
Twenty-five years after the historic Oslo Accords, the United Nations had fallen into a pattern of managing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, rather than resolving it, the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process told the Security Council today, underscoring the Organization’s responsibility to help the sides return to negotiations and quickly show results.
The Security Council met today to discuss the situation in South Sudan, with members pointing out that while progress had been made with the signing of a cessation of hostilities agreement, there had already been setbacks, and the ceasefire had been broken almost immediately.
Following the worst improvised explosive device attack ever carried out, defeating terrorism in Somalia would require the use of both “carrots and sticks”, the Security Council heard today, as representatives were also updated on the humanitarian situation and political developments in the country.
Amid reports of a chemical weapons attack carried out in eastern Ghouta in Syria on 22 January, the Security Council met today to condemn the continued use of those weapons, and urged unity in order to look towards the creation of a new, depoliticized structure to replace the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)-United Nations Joint Investigative Mechanism.
With the security situation in Mali taking a turn for the worse, and elections set to take place in April, the United Nations’ top peacekeeping official told the Security Council today that parties to that country’s Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation must redouble their efforts to implement its provisions and restore stability.
Reaffirming its commitment to the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Afghanistan and the Central Asian States, the Security Council today adopted a presidential statement, expressing its continued support to the Secretary‑General’s call to action to avert threats, ahead of holding a debate on pressing challenges ahead.
