Weeks ahead of a referendum meant to move Mali closer to constitutional order, the senior United Nations official in the country — emphasizing that the situation stands at a critical juncture, amid sustained security and humanitarian crises — welcomed a new strategic review of the Organization’s peacekeeping mission as a fresh opportunity to chart the best way forward.
Against a backdrop of the highest number of violent conflicts since the Second World War and a consequent, pervasive sense of insecurity around the world, the United Nations must rethink its efforts to achieve sustainable peace, the Security Council heard today, as speakers presented suggestions to that end during an open debate on investing in people to enhance resilience against complex challenges in the context of building and sustaining peace.
While the International Criminal Court’s trial stemming from the Security Council’s first-ever referral of a situation has progressed swiftly with an intended close by February, Sudan has not met its commitments, the Court’s top prosecutor told the 15-member organ today, urging it to not allow those who wish to frustrate accountability to run down the clock.
Twelve years filled with destruction and war, corruption, sanctions and the Lebanese financial collapse, as well as the recent COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, have contributed to “a twin humanitarian and economic crisis of epic proportions”, the Special Envoy for Syria told the Council today, giving a detailed report on the embattled country.
Despite worsening security and humanitarian crises, key developments — including the establishment of a sanctions regime and the recent signing of a national accord — can bring accountability, the rule of law and democratic institutions back to Haiti if they are properly supported, the United Nations top official for that country told the Security Council today.
The international community’s immediate priority in the Occupied Palestinian Territory must be reversing the trends that marked 2022 as one of the deadliest years in recent history, the United Nations senior official working to end the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict told the Security Council today as it held its regular open debate on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question.
While stressing the importance of upholding the right to freedom of religion, speakers in the Security Council also cautioned against the dangers of using religion to fuel conflict, as they considered the situation in Ukraine.
The overall security situation in Yemen has remained stable, with no major escalation, and a decisive turn in the eight-year conflict remains possible, briefers told the Security Council today, as delegates voiced support for the Special Envoy’s proposal of a six-month extension of the truce.
With the one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine less than six weeks away, a top United Nations peacebuilding official used today’s Security Council briefing to paint a grim winter picture of the humanitarian and human rights catastrophe pervading a country with nearly 6 million internally displaced people.
Increased State consent to the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice and compliance with its decisions would strengthen the rule of law, senior United Nations officials told the Security Council today during its open debate centred on the rule of law among nations, as speakers subsequently offered differing visions of how best to govern international relations and settle disputes.