Meetings Coverage

Considering the results of the referendum of Southern Sudan announced on 7 February and the request by the Government of Southern Sudan for a continued United Nations presence there, the Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) until 9 July 2011. Unanimously adopting resolution 1978 (2011), the Council also announced its intention to establish a mission to succeed UNMIS.

The current threats posed by Japan’s nuclear power plant echoed the Chernobyl disaster and, thus, the anniversary of that event should be a time for reflection and “robust global debate” on nuclear safety, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said this morning as the General Assembly held a special commemorative meeting on the twenty-fifth anniversary of Chernobyl.

In a burst of activity today, the Economic and Social Council unanimously adopted four decisions and one resolution, laying out, among other things, the themes of its annual ministerial reviews over the next three years, as well as those for the humanitarian segment and the agenda item on regional cooperation of its 2011 substantive session, to be held in Geneva in July.

The Disarmament Commission had failed to capitalize on the momentum created by a host of achievements in the disarmament field of during 2010, Hamid al-Bayati (Iraq), its Chairman, said today as the body concluded its twelfth consecutive fruitless substantive session.

The Security Council expressed strong support today for efforts to further the peace processes in South Sudan and Darfur, while reiterating deep concern about obstacles and continuing violence in both regions and encouraging all parties concerned to engage with the United Nations on the Organization’s future presence in Sudan.

Unfortunately, the stalemate in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations had persisted over the past month and, with the state-building efforts of the Palestinians progressing, “bold and decisive steps” were needed to resolve the decades-old conflict, a top United Nations political official told the Security Council today.

Praising Burundi today for having held peaceful elections in 2010, made “breathtaking” strides in establishing key democratic institutions and, assumed the presidency of the East African Community while still a young member, delegates in the Peacebuilding Commission held the fifth and final review of the strategic framework for the nation, calling it a “milestone” in a process that had begun four years ago.

The world’s current economic growth model – characterized by extreme production and consumption, slashed forests, and polluted air and water supplies — was operating at nature’s expense and, while it was not too late to change course and improve our relationship with Mother Earth, “time is running short,” the General Assembly was told today.

Following the successful completion of the Southern Sudan self-determination referendum, it was imperative to quickly overcome remaining challenges in implementing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, a senior peacekeeping official told the Security Council today.

With the Darfur peace process moving forward on two fronts — two-year-old negotiations in Doha, Qatar, and newly-launched broad-based political talks under way in Sudan — a senior peacekeeping official told the Security Council today that all efforts should be focused on reaching agreement through the upcoming “All Darfur Stakeholders Conference”, which would be an ideal venue for comprehensively addressing outstanding issues.