Security Council

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Abdou Abarry (Niger):

With the number of people suffering from food insecurity projected to double in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, those in conflict zones still face the most severe threats of hunger and even famine, experts told the Security Council during a 17 September videoconference meeting on conflict-induced hunger, as they issued a clarion call for donors to step up their support.

It is starkly evident that people affected by conflict are also disproportionately impacted by climate shocks, the head of an international humanitarian organization told the Security Council in a 17 September videoconference meeting, calling for more in-depth policy reflections on the links between environmental degradation, climate risk, humanitarian needs, and peace and security.

The international community must swiftly step up support to change the course of spiralling violence and growing humanitarian needs across South Sudan, a civil society representative and the heads of the United Nations Mission and agency working in the country told the Security Council, briefing the 15-member organ in a 16 September videoconference meeting.

While the confirmed number of COVID-19 cases in Syria currently stands at 3,618, reports from inside the country are pointing to a much broader spread of the disease, and it will not be possible to gauge the extent of the outbreak without more laboratory testing nationwide, Mark Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, told the Security Council during a videoconference meeting on 16 September.

Sudan’s representative once again urged the Security Council, during a videoconference meeting on 15 September, to lift the sanctions that it imposed on Khartoum over the conflict in Darfur, as the 15-member organ took up the latest report of its Committee established pursuant to resolution 1591 (2005).

With fighting intensifying in Yemen and the threat of famine looming large as donor countries fail to deliver on their humanitarian pledges, the parties to the conflict — which flared in 2015 — must choose the path of peace and work with the United Nations to finalize a joint declaration on a nationwide ceasefire, briefers told the Security Council today.

The Security Council today decided to extend the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) for another year, welcoming newly launched intra-Afghan negotiations and encouraging the parties to work towards a permanent, comprehensive ceasefire and an inclusive political settlement.

The Security Council today decided to extend for one year the mandate of its integrated special political mission in Libya, listing a range of mediation and good offices tasks, while also charging the Secretary-General with conducting an independent review of its structure, priorities and staffing effectiveness.

The United Nations flagship initiative to garner collective engagement on peacekeeping will soon shift to the second phase of implementation, to prepare missions for future challenges, the head of the Organization’s peace operations told the Security Council in a 14 September videoconference meeting.