Amid complex crises faced by peacekeepers, and ongoing strategic reviews of those operations, now was an ideal time to examine the Security Council’s working methods, delegates said today in an open debate focused on improving efficiency, transparency, inclusiveness and accountability.
There was still work to be done before the international community could have shared confidence that the Government of Syria’s chemical weapons programme had been eliminated, the Security Council heard today, as it was briefed by the United Nations top disarmament official on recent events in the war-torn country.
A ministerial debate on building regional partnership in Afghanistan and Central Asia was among the signature events of a January packed with meetings and discussions, Security Council President Kairat Umarov (Kazakhstan) told members during an end-of-month “wrap-up” meeting today.
The Security Council today welcomed improvements in the security and humanitarian situation in Darfur, but remained concerned about outstanding challenges, as it expressed its support for a review that would consider a new mission concept for the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID).
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.
