Security Council: Meetings Coverage

Given the enormous efforts undertaken by the international community since the tragic 12 January earthquake, Haiti could return to the path of stability in two years if it received assistance in weathering the critical risks of the next 18 months, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in the country told the Security Council today.

The Security Council today expressed its intention to take action on a comprehensive set of indicators for use at the global level in tracking implementation of its resolution 1325 (2000) on women and peace and security. The Council will mark the tenth anniversary of the text’s adoption in October.

Affirming that the failure to prosecute persons responsible for acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia undermined international anti-piracy efforts, the Security Council called on all States this morning to criminalize piracy under their respective domestic laws.

The Security Council must continue to improve its openness to non-Council-Member States, temporary members and the general public while ensuring its ability to act effectively and efficiently, speakers said in a day-long debate on the body’s working methods, in its chambers today.

The Security Council today emphasized the critical importance of post-conflict peacebuilding as the “foundation for building sustainable peace and development in the aftermath of conflict”, and highlighted the need for effective peacebuilding strategies to ensure durable peace and development.

While the international community had recently intensified efforts to revive Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, the top United Nations political official today warned the Security Council that the situation on the ground “remains fragile and a crisis of confidence between the parties has so far prevented the resumption of talks”. “We cannot afford to lose this opportunity to reach an agreement,” said B. Lynn Pascoe, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, as he briefed the Council.

The sustainability of the peace process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo would depend on the success of the efforts to stimulate recovery and reconstruction and to ensure the effective presence and authority of the State, as well as consolidation of democratic structures, the Head of the United Nations Mission in that country told the Security Council today.

Plans were on track for an Iraqi mechanism to replace the fund that funnels the country’s export revenues towards development needs and international obligations, the United Nations Controller told the Security Council this morning.

Regional support for renewed Middle East peace efforts was now urgently needed, as was continued strong consensus among international partners and an end to the creation of “negative facts” on the ground, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the Security Council today.

While improvements in Sierra Leone’s political climate were seen as inching the country towards eventual sustainable development, senior United Nations officials warned the Security Council today that the magnitude and political significance of youth unemployment posed a latent risk of instability in the West African nation struggling to consolidate peace and stimulate development.