Security Council: Meetings Coverage

Seeking to strengthen the international response to terrorism, the Security Council today unanimously adopted a resolution aimed at enhancing and fortifying judicial cooperation worldwide. 

In discussing human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Security Council risked disturbing the situation in that country, some delegates warned today following a procedural vote that narrowly approved a meeting on that subject.

Confident that the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia would “close its doors” at the end of 2017, its President informed the Security Council today that the Tribunal only had one trial, one appeal and one contempt case remaining and requested a final extension of the judges’ mandates until the end of November next year.

Despite a peaceful and successful transition in the Central African Republic earlier in 2016, the recent outbreak of violence there had demonstrated the extremely fragile situation in the country, the Secretary-General’s Acting Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA), told the Security Council today.

Although some progress had been made, serious challenges continued to face Libya a year after the signing of the Political Agreement, and if not addressed, could result in chaos, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya told the Security Council today, outlining steps needed for the country to move forward.

Acknowledging the political agreement reached on 18 October in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Security Council remained concerned about the risk for destabilization of the country in the absence of a swift and consensual resolution to the current political crisis.

Following vetoes wielded by China and the Russian Federation, the Security Council today failed to adopt a draft resolution that would have had all parties in Syria end attacks on the city of Aleppo within 24 hours.  The proposed cessation of hostilities would have lasted at least one week and would have demanded immediate safe access to all areas for humanitarian assistance.

Liberia remained stable, but sustaining the progress it had made would require greater investment in the country’s security services as well as commensurate improvements in the justice and correction sectors, the head of United Nations peacekeeping told the Security Council today as it considered the situation in that country and the future of the mission deployed there.

In an emergency session called by the delegations of France and the United Kingdom, the Security Council met today to discuss the urgent humanitarian situation in the Syrian city of Aleppo.

The Security Council strengthened its sanctions regime against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea today, condemning that country’s 9 September nuclear test in the strongest terms.