Security Council: Meetings Coverage

Briefing the Security Council on the work of the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, including the transfer of cases to the Residual Mechanism, judges and prosecutors alike noted progress but stressed the need for continued support, while speakers in debate generally agreed that the voices of victims were being heard and historical records were being preserved.

If urgent funding were not secured immediately, hard-won gains made in Somalia would be reversed, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator told the Security Council today.

The Security Council expressed its disappointment and concern that the election of a new President of Lebanon did not take place within the constitutional time frame.

The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) for one year and expanded it to include support to the Federal Government and African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) by providing strategic policy advice on peacebuilding and State-building, including in the lead-up to elections in 2016.

The Security Council voted unanimously to extend by six months the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau, stressing that the consolidation of peace and stability could only result from a consensual, inclusive and nationally owned transition process.

The Security Council today unanimously voted to renew the mandate of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei for four months, until 15 October, calling on the communities and Governments of Sudan and South Sudan to work with the United Nations towards resumed community dialogue and administration, under the supervision of a joint oversight body.

Despite hope for a “new chapter” for Ukraine after Sunday’s presidential elections, violence continued and deadly fighting peppered towns in the east, with the Secretary-General calling for the release of international monitors and appealing to all with influence to assist, Security Council members heard today.

Cooperation had intensified among the three committees established to counter terrorism, address the Al-Qaida threat and halt proliferation of mass destruction weapons, the chairs of those subsidiary bodies told the Security Council today, emphasizing that the evolving terrorist landscape underlined the need to deliver better results.

The Security Council today extended the operation of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan until 30 November under a restructured mandate intended to quell the violence, especially against civilians, and support implementation of the recent Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, increasing troop and police strength in order to fulfil its terms.