Despite repeated calls to the Security Council and the parties to the conflict in Syria, the humanitarian community remained without access to the majority of the estimated 4.6 million people living in besieged or hard-to-reach areas, the senior United Nations humanitarian official said today during a briefing to the 15-member body.
With a relentless wave of extremist terror gripping the Middle East, Israelis and Palestinians had an opportunity to restore hope to a region torn apart by intolerance and cruelty, Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon told the Security Council today, urging it to “act now” to prevent the two-State solution from slipping away forever.
The Security Council today decided to establish a political mission of unarmed international observers to monitor and verify for one year the laying down of arms by the Government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia–People’s Army (FARC-EP), should they agree to end a civil war that has raged for half a century, the longest in Latin America.
With the resumption of hostilities in Darfur marking the end of a period of relative calm, it was critical that the Government of Sudan extend its full support to the implementation of strategic United Nations priorities, peacekeeping chief Hervé Ladsous stressed today during a morning briefing to the Security Council.
The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Elbio Rosselli (Uruguay):
The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Elbio Rosselli (Uruguay):
On 14 January 2016, members of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 2206 (2015) concerning South Sudan were briefed by the Coordinator of the Panel of Experts on South Sudan in connection with the Panel’s final report, which was submitted in pursuance of paragraph 18 (d) of the resolution.
The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Elio Rosselli (Uruguay):
The Security Council today decided to downsize the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI), decreasing its military component from 5,437 to 4,000 personnel by 31 March 2016 amid calls to lift the sanctions against the Government, given its recent progress in consolidating peace and stability.
The situation of civilians in armed conflict zones — who were increasingly becoming targets themselves — remained “grim and bleak” even in the twenty-first century, stressed high-level briefers as the Security Council took on the issue of protection of civilians today.
