Security Council

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Dinh Quy Dang (Viet Nam):

With a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping over Yemen, and as Houthi rebels pursue their offensive in the oil-rich Marib region, more must be done — urgently and with greater international funding — to ease what is still the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, senior United Nations officials told the Security Council today as the 15-member organ, meeting via videoconference, conducted its monthly debate on the conflict in that Middle East country.

On 15 April 2021, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1518 (2003) removed the following entries from its Sanctions List of individuals and entities:

Facing pandemic lockdowns, spiking violence and eroded access to services and legal protections, women in war zones continue to suffer and global commitments remain largely unmet, the United Nations senior official on sexual violence in conflict told the Security Council today, calling for a “paradigm shift” in how resources are allocated in the post-COVID-19 world.

Expectations are running high in Kosovo after elections that reflected a strong desire among its people for their leaders to fight crime corruption, improve socioeconomic conditions and tackle the COVID-19 pandemic while also advancing dialogue with Serbia, the top United Nations official in Pristina told a videoconference meeting of the Security Council today.

A new strategy to prevent conflict and consolidate peace in Africa’s Great Lakes region will bring fresh support to leaders working to end violence by armed groups, especially in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council during a videoconference meeting today, while describing diplomatic relations across the region as being broadly “on the right track”.

Expressing deep concern over the high number of civilian casualties caused by landmines, explosive war remnants and improvised explosive devices, the Security Council today reiterated its call on belligerents to “immediately and definitively” end the indiscriminate use of such weapons, as senior Government officials debated ways to rid the world of a pernicious legacy.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at the Security Council’s open debate on mine action today:

Eradicating the use of chemical weapons hinges on unity among Security Council members at a time when ending the Syrian conflict still remains a collective responsibility, the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs said in a videoconference meeting today.

As Mali continues to face major political, security, human rights and humanitarian obstacles, it is of “utmost importance” that the international community ensure that national stakeholders live up to their commitments, the United Nations peacekeeping chief told the Security Council today, as he updated on efforts to advance the political transition and implement the 2015 Peace and Reconciliation Agreement.