As the Security Council fully resumed in-person meetings, the invasion of Ukraine at the start of the year by the Russian Federation — a permanent, veto-wielding member of the Council — plunged the 15-nation organ into a fractious new normal, widening pre-existing rifts, making consensus more laborious than ever to achieve and impeding efforts to fulfil their responsibility in maintaining international peace and security.
The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Ishikane Kimihiro (Japan):
Increased State consent to the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice and compliance with its decisions would strengthen the rule of law, senior United Nations officials told the Security Council today during its open debate centred on the rule of law among nations, as speakers subsequently offered differing visions of how best to govern international relations and settle disputes.
Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the Security Council open date, “Promotion and Strengthening of the Rule of Law in the Maintenance of International Peace and Security: the Rule of Law among Nations”, in New York today:
Unanimously adopting resolution 2673 (2023), the Security Council today decided that the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia shall monitor the implementation of certain provisions of the Final Agreement for Ending the Conflict and Building a Stable and Lasting Peace relating to rural reform and ethnic perspectives.
Armed groups and violent extremists are increasing their influence in West Africa and the Sahel while repeated coups d’état are destabilizing Governments, political experts from the region informed the Council today.
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:
The Security Council unanimously decided today to extend the use of the Bab al-Hawa border crossing for the delivery of aid into north-west Syria until 10 July 2023, as members subsequently assessed the propriety of the six-month extension.
Leaders on all sides of the Palestinian question must help lower the flames of tension and maintain the status quo of Jerusalem’s holy sites, the Organization’s senior peace official appealed during his address to the Security Council today.
Syria must fully cooperate with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to close all outstanding issues related to its declaration, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today during its monthly briefing on the implementation of resolution 2118 (2013) on the elimination of the country’s chemical weapons programme, highlighting that long-standing gaps, inconsistencies and discrepancies remain unresolved.
