Security Council

Unfortunately, the stalemate in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations had persisted over the past month and, with the state-building efforts of the Palestinians progressing, “bold and decisive steps” were needed to resolve the decades-old conflict, a top United Nations political official told the Security Council today.

With the Darfur peace process moving forward on two fronts — two-year-old negotiations in Doha, Qatar, and newly-launched broad-based political talks under way in Sudan — a senior peacekeeping official told the Security Council today that all efforts should be focused on reaching agreement through the upcoming “All Darfur Stakeholders Conference”, which would be an ideal venue for comprehensively addressing outstanding issues.

The Security Council today extended the mandate of the committee that monitors efforts to prevent weapons of mass destruction from falling into the hands of terrorists and other non-State actors — the so-called 1540 Committee — for 10 years, until 25 April 2021. Unanimously adopting resolution 1977 (2011), the Council requested the Secretary-General to establish a group of up to eight experts to assist the Committee, known formally as the Committee established pursuant to resolution 1540 (2004).

Following the successful completion of the Southern Sudan self-determination referendum, it was imperative to quickly overcome remaining challenges in implementing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, a senior peacekeeping official told the Security Council today.

Civilian protection initiatives, such as in Libya, would not be comprehensive unless they systematically included “efforts to end sexual violence before it has begun”, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict told the Security Council today. “Even in the ‘tyranny of the emergency’, before hard evidence emerges, and though it may not be obvious what gender has to do with ‘arms embargoes’ or ‘no-fly zones’, we must remember women,” Margot Wallström said.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Néstor Osorio (Colombia):

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Néstor Osorio (Colombia):

Critical challenges in Côte d’Ivoire following the surrender of recalcitrant former President Laurent Gbagbo — whose greed brought on an utterly unnecessary four-month, post-electoral crisis — included restoration of order, prevention of further human rights abuses, national reconciliation and rebuilding and completion of the peace process, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General told the Security Council this morning.

On 30 March 2011, the Security Council, by paragraph 12 of resolution 1975 (2011), decided that the following five individuals (as cited in annex I of the resolution) shall be subject to financial and travel measures imposed by paragraphs 9 to 11 of resolution 1572 (2004):

Underlining the importance of prosecuting suspected pirates operating off the coast of Somalia as armed robbery and other maritime violence continued unabated, the Security Council this morning decided to urgently consider the establishment of special Somali courts operating in the country, as well as the East African region.