The recent “stuttering momentum” in delivering humanitarian aid to Syria’s besieged and hard-to-reach populations must be significantly expanded in the second half of 2016, the United Nations humanitarian chief told the Security Council today, warning that progress made to date was “but a trickle” compared with the country’s overwhelming needs.
With speakers decrying the anachronistic situation and the “open wound” festering in the South Atlantic, the Special Committee on Decolonization today approved a draft resolution reiterating that a peaceful and negotiated settlement of the sovereignty dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom was the only way to end the “special and particular” colonial situation of the Falkland Island (Malvinas).
The Security Council today extended its arms embargo, asset freeze and travel ban on the Democratic Republic of the Congo until 1 July 2017 and the mandate of the Expert Group assisting the Sanctions Committee through 1 August 2017.
The Peacebuilding Commission committed this afternoon to better support nations moving from violent conflict to sustainable peace by providing a policy forum for all relevant stakeholders and strategic and targeted advice to the Security Council.
The thirty-fifth Meeting of States Parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights re-elected two members of the Human Rights Committee today, together with seven new members of the monitoring body, in three rounds of secret balloting.
The Organization’s intergovernmental advisory body that supports peacebuilding in countries emerging from conflict was improving its impact through more transparent and strategic working methods, improved partnerships with regional and subregional organizations and a focus on peacebuilding needs in the Ebola recovery, the Security Council heard today.
The Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen told the Security Council today that he would soon set out a proposal to advance the Yemeni peace talks, now entering their third month in Kuwait, as he called for concessions to be made against the backdrop of a potential humanitarian crisis.
Despite persistent political, economic and security challenges, Afghanistan could make significant strides towards peace and stability in 2016, said Nicholas Haysom this afternoon in his final briefing to the Security Council as Special Representative of the Secretary-General for that country.
The Special Committee on Decolonization approved three draft resolutions today, welcoming the cooperative attitude towards Tokelau in the first text, and calling for greater efforts by both administering Powers and United Nations agencies, in the others, to implement the landmark 1960 Declaration on the granting of independence to Non-Self-Governing Territories and their peoples.
The Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women elected 11 members to its monitoring body today, replacing those whose four-year terms are set to expire at the end of 2016.
