When the Security Council established the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda 20 years ago, on the heels of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia the previous year, the landscape of international criminal law was altered forever, members heard today as they reviewed developments.
In a presidential statement adopted today, the Security Council expressed concern at the grave security situation in parts of Central Africa within the remit of the United Nations Regional Office there, in particular, the ongoing crisis in the Central African Republic and its regional impact, the continuing threat of the Lord’s Resistance Army, and the expansion of Boko Haram terrorist activities into countries in the subregion.
The five outgoing members of the Security Council — the Republic of Korea, Australia, Argentina, Luxembourg and Rwanda — delivered briefings to the Security Council this afternoon on the work of the subsidiary bodies they had chaired during their two-year tenure.
Although the situation in the Central African Republic remained volatile following the recent violence in Bangui, the political process was once again moving forward, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council this morning.
The Security Council today renewed sanctions measures on Liberia for a further nine months, while recognizing the impact of the Ebola outbreak on peace and security as a factor for future decisions to modify or lift the restrictions.
Stemming heightened tensions between the Sudanese Government and African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) was critical to relieve the dire humanitarian situation in the region, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations told the Security Council this morning.
New momentum must be generated and high-level meetings must be resumed so that Kosovo and Serbia could continue towards the normalization of relations, in order to fulfil the promise and opportunities presented by the European Union integration process, said the top envoy of the United Nations in Kosovo, as he briefed the Security Council on recent developments.
New perspectives emerged in the Security Council on United Nations policing, peacekeeping and sanctions during the month of November amid attention to a range of urgent crises, the Permanent Representative of Australia and President of the body said in a monthly wrap-up meeting.
In the four months since the adoption of resolution 2165 (2014), the United Nations had sent humanitarian aid to nearly all hard-to-reach locations in Syria’s four governorates, primarily through cross-border deliveries, but “considerable” challenges remained in accessing the most besieged areas, the Security Council heard today.
Sanctions regimes have been proven to be a valuable tool for the maintenance of international peace and security, but continuous improvement was needed for better targeting, awareness, respect for rights and partnership, the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs told the Security Council today.
