The absence of communication with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, especially military-to-military channels, was dangerous, the Secretary-General warned the Security Council today, emphasizing the need to lower the risk of miscalculation or misunderstanding.
The Security Council decided this afternoon to extend the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) until 30 April 2018.
Condemning the latest attacks on civilians in Syria today, the United Nations humanitarian chief told the Security Council that real progress was needed to “stymie the tide of death” in that country.
While the political process in South Sudan was not dead, it would require “significant resuscitation”, the senior United Nations official in that country told the Security Council today, as it considered the recent security, humanitarian and political developments in the world’s youngest nation.
Cooperation and multilateral approaches would be needed to address interlinked conflicts, cross-border humanitarian crises and violent extremism, the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process told the Security Council today, as it held its quarterly open debate on that region.
Alarmed at the volatility and human rights situation in Libya, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative there cautioned today that the country risked a return to wide-spread conflict.
Given their intrinsic link to peace and security, the Security Council must take human rights into account in all its deliberations, the Secretary-General said today, as the Council held its first-ever thematic debate on that issue.
The Security Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) for a final six months today, deciding to replace it with a follow-up peacekeeping mission that would help the Government of Haiti strengthen rule-of-law institutions, further develop and support the Haitian National Police and engage in human rights monitoring, reporting and analysis.
In light of the threat posed by Al-Shabaab, drought and the ongoing humanitarian crisis, the Security Council Committee on sanctions in Eritrea and Somalia announced a possible future visit to the Horn of Africa today, as members expressed diverging views on arms embargoes imposed on those countries.
The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy to Syria said today that, in the wake of the chemical attack on civilians in that country, there was an opportunity to redouble efforts for a political settlement of a conflict that could have no definitive military outcome.
