The transition process would undoubtedly be challenging, yet Bosnia and Herzegovina could move forward if all parties worked together and fully respected the Dayton Peace Agreement, the High Representative for that country told the Security Council this morning.
Indiscriminate bombardments, harrowing attacks targeting civilians and medical facilities, and widespread carnage had left Aleppo a shell of its former self, with “no corner of the city” spared, the ranking United Nations political and humanitarian affairs officials told a Security Council meeting this afternoon.
The Chairs of three terrorism-related Security Council subsidiary bodies briefed members this morning, reporting on the activities of its Committee’s concerning Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant/Al-Qaida and associated groups, counter-terrorism and sanctions.
Strongly condemning attacks on medical personnel in conflict situations today, the Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution demanding an end to impunity for those responsible and respect for international law on the part of all warring parties.
The Security Council today extended until 30 April 2017 the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), reaffirming its commitment to help the parties achieve a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution that would provide for self-determination.
Concerned by escalating violence and political gridlock in eastern Ukraine, senior officials of the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) called on all parties to the two-year old conflict to immediately lay down their weapons and make good on their commitments under the Minsk agreements, during a Security Council meeting this afternoon on the subject.
The situation in Syria was at risk of slipping backwards if the international community failed to work towards a sustainable political solution that would allow a more effective humanitarian response, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator told the Security Council today.
Welcoming Côte d’Ivoire’s remarkable progress towards lasting peace, stability and economic prosperity, the Security Council renewed the mandate of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in that country for a final period, extending it until 30 June 2017.
Expressing deep concern about the high human cost and suffering caused by armed conflict, the Security Council stressed today that a comprehensive approach to transitional justice and an accountable security sector were critical to consolidating peace, reducing poverty and preventing countries from relapsing into conflict.
The arrival in Juba of Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-in-Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) leader and First Vice President-designate Riek Machar should clear the way for a real transition in South Sudan, but the overall situation in the country remained very worrying, the head of United Nations peacekeeping told the Security Council today.
