Following weeks of mounting political tension, Somalia’s leaders have walked “back from the brink” and resumed talks in the capital, where a positive atmosphere prevails and an agreement on electoral arrangements is now anticipated imminently, the senior United Nations official in the country told the Security Council this morning.
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has closed nine field offices since the peaceful transfer of power in the 2018 presidential elections, the Organization’s top official in that country told the Security Council today, reporting that a new strategy for the operation’s eventual closure recognizes and is tailored to differing realities on the ground and security needs in each province.
The General Assembly concluded its debate on Security Council reform today, with delegates calling for limits on the use of the veto by its permanent members and improved geographical distribution, particularly for Africa, on the 15‑member organ tasked with upholding international peace and security.
Eight individuals so far have been sanctioned for obstructing implementation of the 2015 Mali Peace and Reconciliation Agreement, the Chair of the Committee charged with overseeing the punitive measures told the Security Council today.
The realities of the twenty-first century world urgently require a reformed and expanded United Nations Security Council, particularly righting the historical injustice of Africa’s exclusion from permanent seats, delegates told the General Assembly today.
The Security Council, meeting independently from but concurrently with the General Assembly today, elected five judges to the International Court of Justice for nine-year terms beginning on 6 February 2021.
The Security Council today extended the mandate of the Panel of Experts on Somalia until 15 December 2021, renewed the partial lifting of the arms embargo on the country’s security forces and urged the country to curb terrorist financing as well as illicit exports, including charcoal and explosive ingredients.
The Security Council today decided to extend the mandate of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) until 15 November 2021, outlining protection of civilians, supporting the peace process and preparing for elections as priorities.
Welcoming recent political rapprochement between Sudan and South Sudan but calling on those countries to make more progress on border issues, the Security Council today renewed the mandate of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) until 15 May 2021.
The Security Council, meeting independently from but concurrently with the General Assembly in an initial round of voting today, was not yet able to fill five open seats on the International Court of Justice.
