Security Council

Warning that the situation in Mali was taking “one alarming turn after another”, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon briefed the Security Council today on a raft of grave developments there — including a deepening humanitarian emergency and mounting evidence that the country’s vast northern region was being overrun by a volatile mix of armed groups — and encouraged the 15-nation body to “seriously consider” imposing sanctions on those fanning the flames of the crisis.

The following Security Council press statement was issued on 8 August by Council President Gérard Araud (France):

With “military logic winning the day” in Syria’s 16-month-old conflict and the Security Council deadlocked over how to address it, the 15-member body would likely cancel the United Nations observer mission to that country and seek consensus on a new resolution focused on humanitarian aid for the 3 million Syrians in need of emergency relief, the representative of France, which hold’s the Council’s rotating presidency for this month, said this afternoon.

The following statement to the press was issued today by Security Council President Gérard Araud (France):

Deeply concerned by the recent up-tick in violence and insecurity in parts of Darfur, and clashes between Sudanese Government forces and armed groups, the Security Council today extended for one year the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur, and approved the Secretary-General’s recommendation to reconfigure the mission so that its personnel focused on areas of the region “with the highest security threats”.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Néstor Osorio (Colombia):

On 26 July 2012, the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999) and 1989 (2011) approved the deletion (de-listing) of the entry specified below from the Al-Qaida Sanctions List. The assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo set out in paragraph 1 of Security Council resolution 1989 (2011) therefore no longer apply to the following entry:

Describing the divergent positions of Guinea-Bissau’s international partners on the transitional process emerging in the country following the 12 April military coup d'état, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative there today appealed to the Security Council to call on them to forge a unified strategy for restoring legitimate order.

The Security Council today, in line with the Secretary-General’s recommendation to reduce the strength of the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) by the equivalent of one battalion, adjusted the military component to 8,837 personnel, comprising 8,645 troops and staff officers and 192 military observers, and extended the mandate for another year, until 31 July 2013.

On 25 July 2012, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1970 (2011) concerning Libya issued the following implementation assistance notice: