Security Council: Meetings Coverage

Condemning the March seizure of power by some members of the armed forces in Mali, as well as human rights violations by rebels in the north of the Sahelian country, the Security Council this morning called for the creation of a road map for the restoration of constitutional order and State authority throughout its territory.

Demanding an immediate end to the atrocities perpetrated by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in Central Africa, the Security Council today encouraged all Governments in the subregion to work together, through a recently launched regional initiative, to fight the scourge.

The Security Council today decided to increase the size of the group of experts attached to its committee monitoring the implementation of resolution 1540 (2004), which aims to keep weapons of mass destruction and their components out of the hands of terrorists and other non-State actors. Through resolution 2055 (2012), adopted unanimously by the 15‑member body, the Council cited the increased workload of the subordinate body, known as the 1540 Committee, as the reason for its action.

The Security Council today decided to permit four judges of the Tribunal trying serious crimes committed during the 1994 Rwanda genocide to serve beyond the expiry of their terms of office in order to complete the work of the court, due to be completed by December 2014.

Commitments affirmed in recent international conferences to long-term support to Afghanistan beyond the 2014 date for transition to national leadership, particularly in the security sector, were critical for the future stability of the country and must be fulfilled, the top United Nations peacekeeping official told the Security Council this morning.

The Security Council this afternoon decided to extend until 30 June 2013 the mandate of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), reaffirming its priority of protection of civilians and urging Congolese authorities to reform their security sector and end armed insurgencies and abuse of human rights in the vast African country.

The Security Council this morning decided to renew until 31 December 2012 the mandate of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), which monitors the ceasefire in the Golan Heights between Israel and Syria, while expressing grave concern at recent violations by Syrian Armed Forces in the Force’s area of operations.

Around the world — especially in the Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa — the Security Council must use the tools at its disposal to protect unarmed civilians, who were often caught in the crossfire or targeted in places that rightly should be sanctuaries, including hospitals, schools and places of worship, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, as he launched an open debate on the protection of civilians in armed conflict.

The Security Council held a discussion today with the military commanders of key United Nations peacekeeping operations in Africa, the Middle East and Haiti, who highlighted important strategies for ensuring unity of command and synergy of efforts among the Organization’s 120,000 peacekeepers that would allow for their diverse qualities, skills and experience to have a “multiplying effect” on achieving common operational goals.

Sporadic clashes, military operations and announcements of settlement construction in the West Bank were challenging the positive environment created by recent fragile forward steps in the Israeli-Palestinian talks, the Security Council was told today, during a briefing on recent developments in the Middle East.