The Security Council reiterated its condemnation of trafficking in human beings today, particularly the sale of people by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as Da’esh), as well as other violations and abuses by Boko Haram, Al‑Shabaab, the Lord’s Resistance Army and other such groups for the purpose of sexual slavery, sexual exploitation and forced labour.
The Security Council this afternoon, meeting independently from but concurrently with the General Assembly, elected Dalveer Bhandari (India) to the International Court of Justice for a nine‑year term, beginning on 6 February 2018.
Despite slow progress towards inclusive dialogue in Burundi, the United Nations must continue its support for the political process there as the only way forward, the Secretary‑General’s Special Envoy to the East African country told the Security Council today.
Critical intra‑Palestinian talks were scheduled to open in Cairo, Egypt, on 21 November, the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process told the Security Council today, emphasizing that a genuine change in Gaza, including full Palestinian Authority control over security, would help restore confidence in the feasibility of a comprehensive peace agreement.
Due to the veto of a permanent member, the Security Council today failed for the fourth time in three weeks to renew the mandate, due to expire at midnight, of the investigative body formed to determine the perpetrators of chemical weapons attacks in Syria.
The Mediterranean was a global junction of mutually enriching cultures, societies and economies, but violence and hatred were threatening that dynamism, to the detriment of the entire world, the Secretary‑General of the United Nations told the Security Council today.
The Security Council failed to renew the mandate of the investigative team formed to determine the perpetrators of chemical weapons attacks in Syria following the rejection of two draft resolutions, tabled by the United States and Bolivia, respectively.
Two months since the launch of the Action Plan for Libya, the United Nations mission in that country had simultaneously started working to amend the Libyan Political Agreement, organizing a national conference, preparing for elections and providing humanitarian assistance, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative told the Security Council today.
The armed groups in Darfur today had largely been defeated, the ferocity of intercommunal violence had declined, and there had been no new large‑scale displacements, Bintou Keita, Assistant Secretary‑General for Peacekeeping Operations, told the Security Council today.
The Security Council decided this morning to extend until 15 April 2018 the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force for Abyei (UNISFA), and to limit support for the disputed territory’s border monitoring mechanism to a further five months, while awaiting implementation of measures agreed by Sudan and South Sudan.
