Security Council

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Li Baodong (China):

The Security Council this morning requested the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) to withdraw the military personnel that have been providing security for the Special Court for Sierra Leone, as it decided to end the authorization for that deployment.

A comprehensive strategy for Somalia and newly emergent crises in Africa would be among the priority issues to be considered during China’s March presidency of the Security Council, that country’s Permanent Representative told correspondents at a Headquarters press conference. “We cannot have a piecemeal solution,” Li Baodong said of Somalia, which would be the subject of an open debate on 10 March. He said that the situation remained very disturbing and deserved constant attention.

The Security Council today welcomed the first report of the Ombudsperson charged with aiding in the consideration of requests by individuals and organizations seeking removal from the list created by the Council’s Al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee.

Deploring what it called “the gross and systematic violation of human rights” in strife-torn Libya, the Security Council this evening demanded an end to the violence and decided to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court while imposing an arms embargo on the country and a travel ban and assets freeze on the family of Muammar Al-Qadhafi and certain Government officials.

Warning that “fundamental peace and security issues are at stake in Libya”, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today briefed the Security Council on the situation in that country — where more than 1,000 people have been killed as security forces and militiamen loyal to leader Muammar Al-Qadhafi continued their deadly assault on civilian protesters — and urged members to consider concrete action to stop the violence and end the loss of life.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti ( Brazil):

Guinea-Bissau had made progress towards emerging from the political turmoil of the past few years, including the approval of a road map for security-sector reform, but deep concerns remained, representatives of the Secretariat and the Peacebuilding Commission told the Security Council today. “There has been progress in the political and security environments, although the situation remains complex and tenuous,” said Joseph Mutaboba, Representative of the Secretary-General.

In stark contrast to the recent dramatic political transformations in the Middle East, Israeli-Palestinian negotiations remained at a standstill, with each party sceptical of the other’s intentions, as well as the international community’s seriousness, United Nations envoy Robert Serry told the Security Council today as he called for “credible and effective international intervention” to get the process back on track.

Welcoming recent progress in many sectors in Timor-Leste but stressing the importance of the peaceful and credible holding of upcoming elections, the Security Council this morning extended the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Mission in the new country for one year, until 26 February 2012, at current authorized levels.