Meetings Coverage

Reiterating its strong condemnation of mass rapes in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in late July and August, the Security Council today urged that country’s Government to ensure swift and fair prosecution of the perpetrators, and expressed its readiness to consider all appropriate actions, including targeted measures against those responsible.

The Peacebuilding Commission established a country configuration for Liberia this morning to implement priorities set out in letters from the Government of Liberia and the Security Council dated 27 May and 19 July 2010, respectively.

The growth of international terrorism, insurgency, piracy and human suffering in Somalia demanded an intensified, focused and coordinated response by the international community, the Secretary-General’s new Special Representative for the Horn of Africa country told the Security Council this morning. “Experience in Somalia has shown that the more delayed or inadequate the response is, the more complex the crisis becomes,” Augustine Mahiga said in his first appearance before the Council.

The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Liberia for one year, until 30 September 2011, authorizing it to focus on elections, security and other issues key to the Mission’s future drawdown.

The Security Council was briefed today by the Chairperson of its Committee to monitor sanctions against Iran, following which several Council members expressed concern at that country’s continuation of its nuclear activities and sanctions violations, while underscoring their commitment to a negotiated solution.

Expressing deep concern at the recent tensions in Nepal, the Security Council today extended by four months the mandate of the United Nations Mission there, after which it would leave the country, as requested by the Government. Unanimously adopting resolution 1939 (2010), the Council decided to extend the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) until 15 January 2011.

Encouraged by political leaders’ strong support for the United Nations as the centre stage of dialogue and collective action to address the world’s multiple challenges, outgoing General Assembly President Ali Abdussalam Treki today implored the 192-member body, as the only global organ with a truly global agenda, to continue to innovate, build consensus and implement its resolutions to “stem the erosion of its authority”.

With countries gradually recovering from the global economic and financial crisis, the General Assembly had the duty to deliver results in its pursuit of achieving the Millennium Development Goals, reforming United Nations power structures and promoting sustainable development, incoming Assembly President Joseph Deiss stressed today as he opened the 192-member body’s sixty-fifth session.

The current strength of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti, augmented after the devastating earthquake, should be maintained at least through the elections and the formation of a new Government, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative told the Security Council this morning.

In a flurry of activity before the opening tomorrow of its sixty-fifth session, the General Assembly adopted three resolutions and two decisions today on issues related to the layout of its upcoming high-level meetings on the Millennium Development Goals, the Mauritius Strategy for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, and the International Year of Biodiversity, among others.