Security Council: Meetings Coverage

The Security Council expressed strong support today for the Secretary-General’s efforts in the search for a peaceful solution to the war in Ukraine, in its first united action since the invasion of that country in late February.

A third humanitarian operation is under way to evacuate civilians from the besieged city of Mariupol in war-torn Ukraine after two successful convoys saved nearly 500 people in that area, the United Nations chief told the Security Council today.

Extending the mandate of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) for three months today, the Security Council decided that the Mission will be led by a Tripoli-based Special Representative of the Secretary-General.

Syria’s continued failure to remedy outstanding issues prevents the international community from confirming the elimination of its chemical-weapons programme, the top United Nations disarmament official told the Security Council today as members traded allegations that the work of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is being politicized to suit national interests.

Outlining a four-pronged new investigation strategy to the Security Council today, the top prosecutor of the International Criminal Court pledged his commitment to delivering justice against crimes committed in Libya.

The security crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo threatens to frustrate favourable developments in the wider Great Lakes region, the Security Council heard today, as members welcomed that country’s recent admission into the East African Community and stressed the need to combat the illicit trade of natural resources that continues to fuel conflict.

Senior United Nations officials today urged the Security Council not to forget about the dire humanitarian situation in Syria in light of other conflicts, as members discussed the recent conclusion of the seventh session of the Constitutional Committee and diverged over appropriate modalities for providing life-saving aid.

The status quo on Jerusalem’s holy sites must be upheld at all costs, speakers told the Security Council today, following the recent clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces at Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount during religious holidays.

With the final status of Abyei still unresolved, an alarming recent flare-up of violence killing civilians and peacekeepers threatens the apparent calm between Sudan and South Sudan, speakers told the Council today, as that body also looked towards a possible future renewal of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) mandate.

As senior officials from Serbia and Kosovo asserted discordant opinions regarding where the blame for regional insecurity should lie, the United Nations top official in Pristina, along with Security Council members, urged restraint amidst recent violence and called for continued dialogue, even as some questioned whether the Organization’s continued presence in Kosovo was warranted.