The progress Afghanistan had recently made in the interrelated economic, security and political areas should neither be undervalued nor breed complacency, the top United Nations official in that country told the Security Council today, urging the international community to work towards lasting peace and reconciliation by facilitating direct talks between the Government and armed groups.
Decrying a marked increase in grave violations committed against children in conflict zones, the Security Council today added abduction to the list of such crimes to be closely monitored, during an open debate on the issue that heard from some 80 speakers.
Challenges in protecting civilians, asymmetric threats faced by mission personnel and caveats imposed by troop-contributing countries figured prominently in the Security Council today, as that body heard from the top United Nations peacekeeping official and force commanders on the operational hurdles related to the implementation of peacekeeping mandates.
Exploiting the opportunities for further engagement among the committees established to counter terrorism, address the Al-Qaida threat and halt proliferation of mass destruction weapons would lead to a “multiplier effect” in the delivery of results, those bodies’ Chairs told the Security Council today.
The Security Council today expressed concern at the grave security situation in parts of Central Africa within the remit of the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA), in particular the ongoing crisis in the Central African Republic and its regional impact, the continuing threat of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), and continued terrorist activities by Boko Haram.
Any exit strategy for the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) must be tied to concrete improvements in the situation of people on the ground, a top United Nations peacekeeping official told the Security Council this morning.
As Côte d’Ivoire prepared to hold a presidential election in October, the renewal of mandate of the United Nations Operation in that country was crucial to the consolidation of the achievements made since the 2010 post-election crisis, the Security Council heard today.
The Security Council this morning extended the mandate of the Panel of Experts that assists the Committee monitoring sanctions related to Iran’s nuclear programme, until 9 July 2016, while keeping the mandate under review pending developments.
The military track as a means to end the crisis in Ukraine had not been abandoned, and a prospect of a return to a deepening, intractable conflict was emerging, the Security Council heard today following the recent escalation of hostilities in eastern parts of that country.
The International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the Former Yugoslavia were downsizing as quickly as possible, top officials from those courts told the Security Council today, stressing that their impending closure and transition to a smaller successor body was an opportunity to both preserve and share lessons learned in the practice of international jurisprudence.
