Security Council: Meetings Coverage

Expressing grave concern about the serious events that had occurred in the area of operations of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) on 15 May and 5 June, jeopardizing the long-standing ceasefire between Israel and Syria, the Security Council today renewed the mandate of the Force charged with supervising the ceasefire since 1974 for six months, until 30 June 2012.

Delivering the year’s last scheduled Security Council briefing on the Middle East situation, a senior United Nations official said today that “credible progress in the search for peace between Israel and the Palestinians is more urgent than ever, but remains elusive in a context of tensions on the ground, deep mistrust between the parties, and volatile regional dynamics”.

Welcoming Burundi’s progress towards peace, stability and development, yet noting continuing human rights violations with grave concern, the Security Council decided today to extend the mandate of the United Nations mission in that country for another year.

The international community’s commitment to enduring engagement with Afghanistan through its transition and transformation — voiced at the Bonn Conference on 5 December — was the subject of a presidential statement and a debate in the Security Council today.

The individuals sought by the International Criminal Court for genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur were still allegedly committing similar acts, but the execution of the arrest warrants against them “will end the crimes in Darfur”, the Court’s Chief Prosecutor told Security Council members today.

The positive dynamic initiated between the Government of the Central African Republic and politico-military groups offered “a real chance for peace”, but several obstacles risked blocking that process and could ultimately result in another cycle of generalized conflict, triggering serious repercussions in the subregion, the United Nations top official in that country told the Security Council this afternoon.

The outgoing members of the Security Council — Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Gabon, Lebanon and Nigeria — delivered briefings this morning on the work of the subsidiary bodies they had chaired during their two-year tenure.

Welcoming the encouraging progress made so far in the fully fledged negotiations on Cyprus, as well as the prospect of further decisive progress in the coming months towards a comprehensive and durable settlement resulting from those talks, the Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) for a further period ending 19 July 2012.

The Security Council today, determining that, despite significant progress, the situation in Liberia remained a threat to international peace and security in the region, renewed for 12 months its travel ban on persons deemed to be a threat to the peace in Liberia and arms embargo, modified in previous resolutions to allow the Liberian Government, as well as the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the country, to receive certain military materiel.

Recognizing the urgent need for Sudan and South Sudan to commence the process of border normalization and that the situation in that area constituted a threat to international peace and security, the Security Council today decided to broaden the mandate of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei to include assistance in that process, including supporting the development of effective bilateral management mechanisms, facilitating liaisons and building mutual trust.