Security Council: Meetings Coverage

Fighting between rival brigades in Libya’s capital and airport represented a sharp escalation that had forced withdrawal of United Nations staff and was threatening the country’s political transition, the world Organization’s top envoy to the country told the Security Council this morning.

The Security Council, considering the report of the Peacebuilding Commission’s seventh session, heard that building peace in post-conflict countries was a complex and challenging process, requiring national ownership and leadership, and strengthened responses to early warning signs of relapse.

Deploring the fact that previous demands for aid access in Syria had not been heeded, the Security Council today authorized — for 180 days — relief delivery “across conflict lines” and through additional border crossings, as well as the expeditious deployment of a monitoring mechanism to assure compliance.

The inflow of weapons into the Central African Republic appeared to have been staunched, but impunity for human rights abuses and illicit exploitation of minerals “created fertile ground for rebel and criminal activities”, the head of the sanctions committee on that country told the Security Council this morning.

Warning at an emergency Security Council meeting this morning of violence spiralling out of control in Gaza, Israel and the West Bank, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on the international community to accelerate efforts to immediately halt the escalation as he condemned the rising toll on Palestinian civilians.

With “remarkable strides” in the stabilization of Mali and Guinea-Bissau and high economic growth in West Africa, regional actors were refocusing on development needs while dealing with Boko Haram terrorists, the Ebola virus and other emerging crises, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General told the Security Council this morning.

With the lives of the Syrian people “hang[ing] in the balance”, there were no words to describe the frustration of aid workers forced to spend endless hours seeking permission to deliver assistance, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator told the Security Council today.

Resolving past and present questions concerning the possible military dimensions of Iran’s nuclear programme was a central element of the Security Council’s discussion today as it met to hear a briefing by the Chair of the Committee monitoring that sanctions regime.

The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) until 30 June 2015, within the authorized troop ceiling of 11,200 military and 1,440 police personnel.

The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) for six months, until 31 December 2014, requesting the Secretary-General to ensure that it had the required capacity and resources to fulfil its duties.