Escalating tensions in East Jerusalem must be diffused without delay, but they could not be separated from the wider unresolved conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, the United Nations top political official told the Security Council this afternoon.
The Security Council today urged States, other parties to conflicts and the United Nations system to step up measures to protect and empower displaced women and girls and those facing threats of violent extremism, ahead of a day-long debate on women, peace and security.
In light of continued massacres committed by armed groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for the country this morning requested the Security Council to endorse and promote a more proactive stance by peacekeepers for protection of civilians.
A top United Nations political official warned the Security Council this morning that peace arrangements in eastern Ukraine were progressing far too slowly to end the violence and tensions there, and called on all actors to work more urgently toward durable peace.
The Security Council today authorized the African Union to maintain deployment of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) until 30 November 2015, while also amending several aspects of the sanctions regime against the strife-torn east African nation.
In a day-long open debate today that heard from more than 55 speakers, the Security Council considered improvements to the way it followed up on its referrals to the International Criminal Court, as well as the manner in which due process was applied in targeting sanctions.
The Security Council today adopted its annual report to the General Assembly for the period 1 August 2013 to 31 July 2014.
While piracy off the coast of Somalia was at its lowest level in years, progress was “fragile and reversible”, the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs told the Security Council today, stressing that the underlying political instability and lack of alternative livelihoods in the East African country must be addressed if gains were to be sustained.
With factional fighting and massive displacement continuing in South Sudan, the top United Nations official for that country this morning urged the Security Council to move the warring parties to translate verbal commitments into peace on the ground.
The $5.4 billion in pledges from some 50 countries at a recent donor conference for Gaza’s reconstruction must quickly materialize into assistance on the ground, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the Security Council today.
