Security Council: Meetings Coverage

The High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina told the Security Council today that, given what he saw in that country, there was still a clear need for his Office to remain in place, and given the continued negative trends and political instability, it was essential for EUFOR (European Union multinational stabilization force), with a Chapter VII executive mandate, to also remain in place.

Terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction continued to pose a serious threat to international peace and security, the Chairman of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1540 (2004) said as the Security Council reviewed the work of its three anti-terrorism Committees.

Strongly condemning ongoing attacks by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in parts of central Africa, the Security Council today, taking up two reports on the region, demanded an immediate end to all attacks by that armed group, particularly those on civilians, urged the release of all abductees and insisted that all elements of the group surrender and disarm.

A concerning escalation of tensions along the border areas between Sudan and South Sudan could flare into widespread violence unless both sides recommitted to finding peaceful solutions to pending issues, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations warned the Security Council this morning during a briefing on recent developments in those countries.

The Security Council, meeting independently from, but concurrently with, the General Assembly, today elected four judges to the International Court of Justice for nine-year terms, beginning on 6 February 2012, but failed to elect a fifth judge during five rounds of secret balloting.

Women, girls, boys and men in conflicts around the world continued to be subjected to blatant and frequent violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, not because they were “collateral damage”, but because they were deliberately targeted, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the Security Council today.

As election day loomed closer in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, sporadic security threats by armed groups had triggered a need for additional funding for military helicopters and police training, the United Nations top adviser in that country told the Security Council today, presenting the latest report of the Secretary-General on recent developments there.

Strong international support was crucial as Guinea-Bissau approached decisive phases in the reform process leading to a “sensitive” electoral process in 2012, the United Nations top political advisor in that country told the Security Council today, as he presented the latest Secretary-General’s report on recent developments there.

The International Criminal Court’s Office of the Prosecution was galvanizing efforts to ensure that Libya’s former intelligence chief, Abdullah al-Senussi, would face justice, following the death of Muammar Qadhafi on 20 October, the Security Council was told this afternoon.

Despite unprecedented efforts to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia, pirates had expanded their reach and had become more violent and technically adept, and international actors must redouble their efforts to solve the problem in the context of an overall solution to the Somalia crisis, a senior United Nations political affairs official told the Security Council this afternoon.