Security Council

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Ruchira Kamboj (India):

Today’s global challenges require a revitalized international cooperation that is effective, representative and inclusive, Secretary-General António Guterres told the Security Council today during a day-long open debate on a new orientation for reformed multilateralism.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the Security Council open debate on multilateralism, in New York today:

The road map for South Sudan must be implemented within stipulated timeframes, speakers told the Security Council, as the 15-member body also debated progress achieved in implementation of the Revitalized Peace Agreement and underscored the importance of strong and unified armed forces for the country’s institutional development.

Outgoing Chairs of Security Council subsidiary bodies emphasized to the 15-member organ today the importance of listening to varied perspectives, conducting field visits and remaining free of political considerations, as speakers alternately highlighted the importance of sanctions regimes and suggested ways to ensure they are developed and used effectively.

Briefing the Security Council today on the significant progress and tangible results in its core judicial cases, the President of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals called for the international community’s continued support of its functions as it shifts from an operational to a residual court that safeguards the legacy of the Tribunals for war crimes committed in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, as well as the Mechanism itself.

States must apply effective arms-control measures to prevent the diversion of weapons supplied to Ukraine, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today, as some Council members defended their decision to continue providing military support to Kyiv while others detailed the danger of doing so.

The Security Council today decided to provide a “humanitarian carve-out” — a standing humanitarian exemption — to the asset freeze measures imposed by United Nations sanctions regimes.

​​​​​​​Despite the best efforts of the United Nations Stabilization Mission, the security situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is worsening, with pervasive violence and armed groups killing civilians in the eastern region of the country, the Special Representative and Head of the Mission warned the Security Council today.

Noting that recent elections held in Angola, Congo, São Tomé and Príncipe and Equatorial Guinea showed significant progress towards democracy and rule of law, as well as a greater participation of women, briefers told the Security Council today that strengthened international and regional cooperation was needed to build and sustain peace and democratic strides in Central Africa in the face of persistent security challenges.