The international community must do more to promote difficult compromises on the part of Israeli and Palestinian leaders in order to salvage the two-State solution to the Middle East conflict, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the Security Council this morning.
In its fight against sexual violence in conflict, the world had arrived at a “new juncture”, characterized by ongoing, shocking crimes, but also by greater opportunity to respond to the scourge in a resolute and integrated manner, the United Nations’ top official on the issue told the Security Council today ahead of an open debate on women, peace and security.
The Central African Republic was entering a “crucial” phase of its delicate return to stability, the Special Representative in the country told the Security Council today, stressing that support from international and regional partners was critical for ensuring a smooth political transition and access to those still in desperate need of humanitarian assistance.
Imposing sanctions on individuals it said were undermining the stability of Yemen, the Security Council today demanded that all parties in the embattled country, in particular the Houthis, immediately and unconditionally end violence and refrain from further unilateral actions that threatened the political transition.
The international community must continue to support dialogue between the Malian parties to achieve a political solution to the crisis to which they would all adhere, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations told the Security Council this morning.
The Security Council today authorized the resumed drawdown for the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) — suspended since September due to the Ebola outbreak — and narrowed its mandate to exclude assistance for senatorial elections that were held in December 2014.
The situation in the Middle East, protection of children in armed conflict and crises in Africa dominated the Council’s schedule, the Permanent Representative of France, President of the body for March, said in a monthly wrap-up meeting this afternoon.
Unless well-targeted humanitarian assistance reached those fleeing Boko Haram’s increasingly brutal attacks, more than 3 million people in northern Nigeria would be unable to meet basic food needs in the coming months and millions more would be affected, top United Nations officials said, briefing the Security Council on threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts.
Unanimously adopting two separate resolutions this evening on Libya, the Security Council, in the first, called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and extended the United Nations Support Mission there (UNSMIL) until 15 September, and in the second, adjusted the arms embargo on the country in light of the terrorist threat there.
From Syria and Iraq to Libya and Yemen, the cultural and religious fabric in the Middle East, intricately woven over centuries, was being torn apart by terrorists intent on eliminating the very diversity that had given rise to many of the world’s great civilizations, the Security Council heard today as speakers implored it to help end the fighting and urgently protect the region’s minorities.
