Following the Secretary-General’s strategic review of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), the Security Council today extended until 31 October 2023 the Mission’s mandate and tasks, as set out in resolutions 2158 (2014) and 2592 (2021), as Council members condemned the terrorist attack two days ago in Mogadishu.
On 9 September, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 2140 (2014) held informal consultations to consider the midterm update of the Panel of Experts, submitted in accordance with paragraph 16 of resolution 2624 (2022).
The Government of Belarus’ deliberate diversion of Ryanair Flight 4978 under the false pretext of a bomb threat is an act of unlawful interference that deliberately endangered the safety and security of the flight and the lives of those on board, Salvatore Sciacchitano, President of the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), told the Security Council today, citing the report of the agency and the work of its fact-finding investigation team.
The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Michel Xavier Biang (Gabon):
Amid a situation in a downward spiral, marked by an increase in violence across the Occupied Palestinian Territory, determined actions by both parties are urgently needed to reverse negative trends on the ground, the senior United Nations official for the Middle East peace process told the Security Council today, cautioning delegates that a failure to address the root causes of the escalation will only worsen an already explosive situation.
The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) for twelve months — until 31 October 2023 — as members welcomed the appointment of Abdoulaye Bathily as Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya and Head of UNSMIL, who officially assumed his duties on 25 September.
Amid a resurgence of violence and intercommunal attacks, Sudan and South Sudan must continue their political engagement for implementing security and administrative arrangements in Abyei, and achieving an acceptable solution on the final status of the Area, speakers told the Security Council today, as it also looked towards a renewal of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) mandate and the mission’s support to the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism before they expire on 15 November.
The Security Council today voted to extend the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) until 31 October 2023, calling on the parties to resume negotiations in good faith towards a mutually acceptable political solution for the region.
Speakers in the Security Council warned today against using disarmament and non-proliferation instruments to undermine multilateral cooperation, as the Russian Federation accused Ukraine and the United States of conducting biological weapons programmes and demanded an investigation.
The Security Council decided today to extend the mandate of the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia for one year, unanimously adopting resolution 2655 (2022).
