While the first phase in implementing Colombia’s recently signed Peace Agreement between the Government and guerrilla fighters remained largely on track, the “relatively short window of opportunity” to build a solid foundation for peace required consistent vigilance, the senior United Nations official in that country said in a briefing to the Security Council today.
The reported use of chemical weapons in north-western Syria, if confirmed, would constitute the largest single such attack in that war-torn country since 2013, the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs told the Security Council today, as members weighed a draft resolution to be tabled by France, United Kingdom and the United States.
The Security Council strongly condemned violence by armed groups in the Central African Republic today, expressing particular concern over ongoing clashes around Bambari in Ouaka prefecture and Bakouma in Mbomou prefecture.
Against the backdrop of significant security progress and improved cooperation with the Government of Sudan, the United Nations and the African Union should consider amending the mandate of their joint peacekeeping Operation in Darfur, stressed the head of that mission today as he briefed the Security Council on recent developments.
The Security Council adopted its first resolution addressing Boko Haram’s presence in the Lake Chad Basin today, expressing concern about the protection needs of civilians affected by terrorism, including those resulting from sexual exploitation and abuse, extra-judicial killings and torture.
The Security Council renewed the mandate of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) this morning, extending it until 31 March 2018 while reducing the operation’s troop ceiling by some 3,600 military personnel.
Amid hope that 2017 would bring noticeable improvements in the level of humanitarian access in Syria, the ability of the United Nations to reach millions in need was no better than this time in 2016, the Emergency Relief Coordinator told the Security Council today.
The Security Council deplored today the unlawful destruction of cultural heritage, religious sites and artefacts, and the smuggling of cultural property by terrorist groups during armed conflict, affirming that such attacks might constitute a war crime and must be brought to justice.
The last three months had seen a high rate of Israeli settlement plans and construction in the Occupied Palestinian Territory increased notably in the last three months, as did provocations from both sides, despite a call from the Security Council in late December 2016 to cease such activity, the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process said this afternoon.
The Security Council decided this morning to extend until 24 April 2018 the mandate of the Panel of Experts for the committee monitoring sanctions on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and expressed its intent to take appropriate action on a further extension no later than 24 March 2018.
