Security Council: Meetings Coverage

Expressing grave concern at all violations of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement, the Security Council this morning extended until 31 December 2013 the mandate of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, which monitors the ceasefire in the Golan Heights between Israel and Syria.

The Security Council today decided to remove Iraq from its obligations under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter concerning the return of Kuwaiti and third-State nationals or their remains and their property seized by Iraq’s former regime during its 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

The senior United Nations official in the Sahel today unveiled an integrated strategy for combating extremists and terrorists in the region and beyond, as well as arms proliferation and transnational organized crime.

The expanded use of new technologies — including unarmed drones — in United Nations peacekeeping operations could bolster both military and political intelligence and help save lives, the Security Council heard today during briefings by force commanders of a number of missions.

Despite significant challenges and escalating tensions on the ground, the United Nations must not let a “collective sense of impotence” erode its sense of responsibility in the Middle East, warned a top political official as he briefed the Security Council this afternoon.

The United Nations top official in Mali commended the 18 June Preliminary Agreement on the Presidential Elections and Inclusive Negotiations between that country’s transitional Government and armed groups in the north as an “important first step” towards full restoration of constitutional order and territorial integrity in the strife-torn country.

The Security Council today urged the United Nations sanctions committees to apply targeted sanctions against parties committing sexual violence during armed conflict.

The United Nations top policy official on Afghanistan today called on the Afghan Government to bolster steps to ensure next April’s presidential and provincial council elections were transparent and inclusive, while deploring the spike in violence against civilians in recent months.

The current of wealth from the world’s abundant natural resources was too often diverted away from populations in need, instead feeding conflicts and corruption, and leading to human rights abuses and environmental damage, warned a number of high-level speakers as they briefed the Security Council today.

The Libyan people would, for the foreseeable future, continue to endure the heavy legacy bequeathed to them over decades of brutal rule, the Security Council was told today as it heard from the top United Nations official in that country.