Security Council: Meetings Coverage

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.

The Security Council this morning this morning extended the authorization of the European Union operation in the Central African Republic until 15 March 2015.

Despite persistent challenges, Somalia was going through "unprecedented change and optimism" which must be turned into stable progress through unified efforts by all stakeholders, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for that country told the Security Council this morning.

Reaffirming that Haiti was at an “important juncture” in the consolidation of stability and democracy, the Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) until 15 October 2015.

While reiterating demands for progress between the parties on outstanding issues, the Security Council this morning extended the mandate of the United Nations Interim Security Force for the disputed Abyei area bordering Sudan and South Sudan until 28 February 2015.

In the Security Council today, officials of the United Nations and affected countries alike continued to sound the alarm on the devastating effects of the Ebola epidemic, pleading for international action that matched the magnitude of the scourge and expressing gratitude for the international aid that had already been delivered or pledged.

Swift adaptation to ever-more perilous environments was critical to protect both peacekeepers and civilians under their mandate, the Security Council was told this morning as it met with force commanders of a number of United Nations missions.