The international community’s commitment to enduring engagement with Afghanistan through its transition and transformation — voiced at the Bonn Conference on 5 December — was the subject of a presidential statement and a debate in the Security Council today.

The General Assembly today adopted 63 resolutions and 9 decisions recommended by its Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural), including a text that strongly condemned “continued grave and systematic” human rights violations in Syria and called for an immediate end to all violence in that country.

Welcoming Burundi’s progress towards peace, stability and development, yet noting continuing human rights violations with grave concern, the Security Council decided today to extend the mandate of the United Nations mission in that country for another year.

The following statement was issued on 20 December by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

Hailing the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme as “too important to fail”, delegates in the General Assembly today praised the Process for having significantly reduced the scope of the conflict diamond trade, while expressing concern that a major civil society partner had pulled out of the United Nations-backed diamond industry initiative in 2011 to demonstrate lack of confidence.

Reaffirming that staff retention was essential for the completion of the work of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the Security Council this morning extended the terms of office of four judges of the Trial Chamber until 30 June 2012 or sooner if their trials were completed.

Expressing grave concern about the serious events that had occurred in the area of operations of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) on 15 May and 5 June, jeopardizing the long-standing ceasefire between Israel and Syria, the Security Council today renewed the mandate of the Force charged with supervising the ceasefire since 1974 for six months, until 30 June 2012.

Reaffirming its full commitment to the consolidation of peace and stability in Guinea-Bissau, the Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in that country until 28 February 2013.

The Security Council, concerned at the security vacuum in many parts of the Central African Republic and of reports of continued human rights violations there, today extended the mandate of the United Nations Peacebuilding Office in that country (BINUCA) until 31 January 2013.

Against a backdrop of growing concern about the nature of Iran’s nuclear programme, and amid questions of transparency surrounding the non-publication of a report by an expert panel, the Chair of the Security Council Committee created to monitor compliance with sanctions imposed on Iran said today that it was considering holding an open briefing to discuss its mandate and activities.