Meetings Coverage

Amid a sharp spike in violence between Israelis and Palestinians — including the “alarming escalation” over the weekend of rocket fire from the Gaza Strip into Israeli civilian areas and the ensuing Israel air strikes that left three Palestinians dead — a senior United Nations political official today told the Security Council that the international community must make a “decisive” effort to ease tensions and bring the parties back to the negotiating table.

While welcoming Mongolia’s efforts to bring its national legislation into line with its obligations under international treaties, members of the Human Rights Committee expressed considerable concern today that an absence of judicial independence jeopardized broader protections by eroding public faith in the most fundamental mechanisms of justice.

Stressing the importance of a comprehensive approach to challenges in Afghanistan and affirming the need to reinforce Afghan ownership of those efforts, the Security Council this morning extended the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in the country, known as UNAMA, for one year, until 23 March 2012.

As the General Assembly today considered the recent progress reports of the two key bodies of the United Nations peacebuilding architecture, delegates gave generally favourable reviews of their track records in responding to the needs and challenges on the ground of strife-torn and post-conflict countries.

Mongolia had announced a moratorium on the death penalty in the last 10 years, in addition to having enacted a landmark gender equality law and streamlined procedures for registering non-governmental organizations with the State in order to improve their overall efficiency, the Human Rights Council heard today as it took up that country’s fifth periodic report.

Citing critical gaps between a number of admittedly excellent laws and proposed legislative amendments on the one hand, and the actual status of civil and political rights in Serbia on the other, experts of the Human Rights Committee pressed that country today to do more on several fronts, including the protection of minority rights, the effective functioning of its courts and grave instances of violence against journalists and human rights defenders.

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan called for full international support to the planned transition to Afghan responsibility for security, governance and development in the troubled country as he addressed the Security Council this morning during a debate on that situation.

Demanding an immediate ceasefire in Libya, including an end to the current attacks against civilians, which it said might constitute “crimes against humanity”, the Security Council this evening imposed a ban on all flights in the country’s airspace — a no-fly zone — and tightened sanctions on the Qadhafi regime and its supporters.

Following protests across the Occupied Palestinian Territory in recent weeks, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas had announced his intention to establish a unity Government and to conduct elections within six months, said a representative of Palestine at United Nations Headquarters today.

In order to facilitate what it called urgently needed humanitarian assistance in Somalia, the Security Council decided this morning to ease its assets freeze on the beleaguered Horn of Africa nation for 16 months.