Security Council

Intercultural dialogue was crucial in preventing and ending conflicts, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the Security Council today as he opened a meeting on that subject, with Prime Minister Saad Hariri of Lebanon presiding.

The Security Council decided today to extend the mandate of the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT) until 31 December 2010, and called upon the Secretary-General to complete the withdrawal of all components of the Mission by that date.

While serious dangers still threatened Iraq, the successful legislative elections provided an opportunity to further strengthen the country’s sovereignty and reconciliation, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative told the Security Council this morning.

The High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina told the Security Council today that the country had made great strides in international relations in the 18 years since its admission to the United Nations, but internal divisions had stalled domestic reforms.

Approaching full deployment, and with the peace process progressing slowly, the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) was now focused on carrying out its protection mandate despite the challenges, Ibrahim Gambari, Joint African Union-United Nations Special Representative, told the Security Council today.

The Security Council had carried out an intense but useful mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 13 to 15 May, its leader said in a briefing to colleagues today. Gérard Araud of France said the mission had discussed with President Joseph Kabila, other Congolese leaders and members of civil society, means by which to achieve the common objective of restoring State sovereignty over the national territory and restoring stability.

The President of Djibouti told the Security Council today that persistent ills in the Horn of Africa, including food insecurity, conflict in Somalia and destabilizing actions by Eritrea, opened the prospects to wider crises there, and must be dealt with firmly. “The escalating tensions and conflicts, the breakdown of law and order so widespread in the Horn of Africa, could be but a prelude to a much worse situation, unless its many causes are sufficiently and seriously addressed,” he said.

Israeli-Palestinian proximity talks had officially commenced under United States mediation, but they faced “powerful elements who will seek to derail progress”, Robert Serry, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Personal Representative of the Secretary-General, told the Security Council today.

Kosovo remained stable but the potential for volatility remained because little progress had been made in reconciling the ethnic Albanian and Serb communities there, Lambert Zannier, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, told the Security Council today. “The absence of a significant process of reconciliation between the communities continued to be a challenge, which, coupled with economic difficulties, continued to present the risk of social unrest,” he said.

With the Transitional Federal Government in Somalia making progress building its institutions and reaching out to armed groups, it was important to redouble efforts for stability in light of the remaining enormous challenges, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General told the Security Council this morning.