From 21 to 25 October 2019, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1540 (2004), in cooperation with the Government of China, convened a training course for 1540 national points of contact in the Asia-Pacific region in Xiamen, China. The course was supported by the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs with the financial support of the European Union.
The Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2492 (2019) today, urging States to recommit themselves to its women, peace and security agenda — now approaching its twentieth anniversary — including by creating safe environments for women leaders, peacebuilders, human rights defenders and political actors around the globe.
On 15 October 2019, the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolution 751 (1992) concerning Somalia (“the Committee”) held informal consultations to consider the final report of the Panel of Experts on Somalia, submitted pursuant to paragraph 54 of resolution 2444 (2018).
The Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process underlined today the urgent need for preventive diplomacy to ensure a fair and lasting peace as “new dangerous flashpoints emerge” in the region.
Whereas long-standing restrictions on the importation of weapons have largely prevented their flow into the hands of Al-Shabaab — a group responsible for ongoing terror attacks across the Horn of Africa — those measures require updating to better reflect reality on the ground, the head of the Security Council’s Somalia Sanctions Committee said today.
The ranking United Nations official in the Central African Republic appealed to the Security Council today to renew the mandate of the Organization’s peacekeeping mission in that country with a focus on elections planned for 2020 and 2021, as well as other challenges.
The recent escalation of hostilities in north‑east Syria — following a Turkish military operation launched on 9 October — has exacerbated the safety and well‑being of the area’s 3 million residents, a top United Nations humanitarian official warned the Security Council today, adding that nearly 180,000 people have fled that border region in just two weeks.
Given the increased cooperation between Sudan and South Sudan on a host of issues, it is time for the parties to finally make progress on the status of the disputed area of Abyei, the Under‑Secretary‑General for Peace Operations told the Security Council today.
The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Jerry Matthews Matjila (South Africa):
The head of United Nations Peace Operations called upon the Security Council today to help the Government of Sudan and armed movements in Darfur to seize the opportunities for building comprehensive peace arising from recent political change in the country.
