Security Council

Condemning the continuing illicit flow of weapons within and into the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Security Council today renewed until 30 November 2012 the arms embargo and related sanctions on that country, and requested the Secretary-General to extend the mandate of the Group of Experts monitoring those measures.

Just one month since the end of serious fighting, the Libyans had shown great initiative and responsibility in a post-conflict context “very different from any other”, the top United Nations representative for Libya told the Security Council today.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President José Filipe Moraes Cabral (Portugal):

On 28 November 2011, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1533 (2004) concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo added the following individual to the List of individuals and entities subject to the measures imposed by paragraphs 13 and 15 of resolution 1596 (2005), as renewed by paragraph 3 of resolution 1952 (2010):

Transnational crime, pandemics, and climate change were three defining challenges, and as the nature of such threats continued to evolve, the Security Council — so central to our ability to keep the peace — must also keep pace, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the Council today as it addressed new challenges to international peace and security and conflict prevention.

The current calm and stability were paving a smooth road ahead to the “democracy fest” anticipated for Timor-Leste with next year’s landmark elections, the United Nations top representative for that country told the Security Council today, introducing the Secretary-General’s latest report on recent developments.

Today, the Security Council, meeting concurrently with, but independently from, the General Assembly, once again failed in three rounds of balloting to elect a fifth Judge to the International Court of Justice.

Condemning and deploring all acts of piracy and armed robbery against vessels in the waters off the coast of Somalia, the Security Council today extended for 12 months its authorizations granted to States and regional organizations cooperating with the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia in the fight against such acts.

“Without a credible path forward, accompanied by more far-reaching steps on the ground,” Robert Serry, the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process told the Security Council today, “the viability of the Palestinian Authority and its State-building agenda — and, I fear, of the two-State solution itself — cannot be taken for granted”.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President José Filipe Moraes Cabral (Portugal):