The road to peace in Afghanistan is still long, but with united support for the country’s ownership of the peace process, there is reason for cautious optimism, the Special Representative told the Security Council today, stressing that ongoing talks between the United States and the Taliban offer hope for ending years of fighting in the Central Asian country.
Sudan is legally obliged to transfer former President Omer Hassan Ahmed al‑Bashir and two other suspects detained in the Darfur situation to the International Criminal Court, the Chief Prosecutor told the Security Council today, outlining her willingness to engage with authorities to ensure they face impartial justice — either in The Hague or in the politically volatile country.
Senior United Nations officials sounded alarms in the Security Council today over increased fighting in north-west Syria among parties trying to advance their military interests, pointing to “unimaginable” consequences if critical players do not exert the political will needed to end the protracted conflict.
The Force Commanders of peacekeeping missions in Darfur and Cyprus briefed the Security Council today on their cooperation with host countries, focusing on civilian protection, improving personnel performance and navigating complex sociopolitical shifts — including those currently unfolding in Sudan.
The “unwinnable” conflict in Yemen is worsening, with 20 million Yemenis lacking enough food and only marginal changes in power dynamics since fighting broke out in 2015, top United Nations officials warned the Security Council today, amid calls for parties to fully implement the Stockholm and Hodeidah Agreements designed to end the acute humanitarian crisis.
Opening the substantive portion of its 2019 session today, the Special Committee on Decolonization took up the questions of Gibraltar, Tokelau and Western Sahara, while also approving draft resolutions relating to the dissemination of information about its work and its dispatching of visiting missions to the world’s 17 remaining Non‑Self‑Governing Territories.
The General Assembly today elected 19 members of the Economic and Social Council, while also deciding to commemorate the seventy-fifth anniversary of the signing of the United Nations Charter on 26 June 2020, and to convene a high-level meeting marking the anniversary later that year.
The Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Burundi is planning to return to East Africa for consultations alongside Uganda President Yoweri Museveni that will form the basis of the Secretary-General’s recommendations on the way forward in that country, Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support, told the Security Council today.
Given the significant political developments unfolding in Sudan, the Security Council must carefully consider the options for the drawdown and liquidation of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), the head of United Nations peacekeeping said today.
With Middle East crises occupying a significant portion of its agenda, the Security Council today expressed its intention to promote closer cooperation between the United Nations and the League of Arab States in the fields of conflict early warning, prevention, peacemaking, peacekeeping, peacebuilding and sustaining peace.
