Security Council

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Dang Dinh Quy (Viet Nam):

The United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) has an increasingly important role as the countries in the region seek to counter an unprecedented level of violence, relentless terrorism and other cross-border threats, speakers said today, as the Security Council continued to discuss the Office’s mandate renewal.

On 2 January 2020, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1518 (2003) approved the removal of the following entities from its List of Individuals and Entities subject to the assets freeze set out by paragraphs 19 and 23 of Security Council resolution 1483 (2003) adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations.

Cooperation with regional organizations and the importance of upholding the Charter of the United Nations in the maintenance of international peace will top the Security Council’s agenda in January, its incoming President said at a Headquarters press conference today.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Kelly Craft (United States):

The Security Council today failed to adopt two draft resolutions on extending the authorization for the mechanism that allows cross‑border delivery of humanitarian aid in Syria today — one tabled by Belgium, Germany and Kuwait; the other by the Russian Federation.

The Special Envoy for Syria told the Security Council today that he is forging ahead with efforts to unify Government and opposition representatives around an agreed agenda for the newly launched Constitutional Committee, aiming to bring the protracted political process back on track.

Iran’s delegate described United States sanctions against his country as “tantamount to economic terrorism”, while a senior United Nations official called for preventing a serious confrontation in the region, as the Security Council considered the milestone 2015 agreement governing Tehran’s nuclear activities.

Following the approval on 10 July 2019 of the addition of the entries specified below to its Sanctions List of individuals and entities subject to the travel ban as set out in paragraphs 1 to 3 of Security Council resolution 2374 (2017) and renewed by paragraph 1 of resolution 2432 (2018).

The scale of humanitarian needs in Syria will remain vast in 2020, with an estimated 11 million civilians projected to require assistance on a regular basis and 5 million in acute need of help, a senior humanitarian official told the Security Council today, urging that a mandate for the cross-border delivery of vital aid through neighbouring countries be renewed.