Security Council

The Security Council adopted its annual report to the General Assembly today, covering the period from 1 January to 31 December 2020.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Zhang Jun (China):

The tragic irony of Syria is that humanitarian suffering is increasing, despite the relative calm, compared with earlier years of the conflict, the Security Council heard today from high-level officials of the Organization who made a strong appeal for continued aid to the country.

The Security Council heard today that anemic implementation of its resolutions and international law designed to protect civilians in armed conflict has collided with the COVID-19 pandemic to exacerbate the humanitarian situation of vulnerable populations around the world, as briefers from the Organization and civil society urged the 15-member organ to take action.

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.

After declining for several years, 2021 has seen an alarming uptick in deadly attacks against United Nations peacekeepers, senior officials told the Security Council during a videoconference debate today, as members adopted a presidential statement reiterating their support for blue helmets deployed amid some of the world’s most complex conflict environments.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Zhang Jun (China):

While the ceasefire in Libya is holding, continued violations of the United Nations arms embargo and delays in withdrawing foreign mercenaries are threatening to disrupt hard-won gains in the country’s transitional process ahead of upcoming elections, the United Nations top official for Libya told the Security Council today during a videoconference meeting.

Despite progress Sudan has made towards peaceful transition, delays in establishing key representative bodies, continued intercommunal conflict and unanswered violence against women and girls threaten the country’s stability and civilian population during its transition process, the Head of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in the Sudan (UNITAMS) told the Security Council during a videoconference meeting today.

Despite having suffered some of the COVID-19 pandemic’s worst socioeconomic impacts — including inflated debt burdens, job losses and worsening conflicts — Africa has to date received just 2 per cent of vaccine doses produced globally, the Security Council heard today, as it convened a high-level virtual debate on addressing the root causes of conflict in the continent’s post-COVID-19 recovery process.