The General Assembly concluded its debate on Security Council reform today, with delegates calling for limits on the use of the veto by its permanent members and improved geographical distribution, particularly for Africa, on the 15‑member organ tasked with upholding international peace and security.
The realities of the twenty-first century world urgently require a reformed and expanded United Nations Security Council, particularly righting the historical injustice of Africa’s exclusion from permanent seats, delegates told the General Assembly today.
The United Nations will assess, in early 2021, the support provided by its peacekeeping mission in Mali to the joint counter-terrorism force for Africa’s Sahel region, the head of the Organization’s peace operations told the Security Council during a 16 November videoconference meeting.
The Security Council, meeting independently from but concurrently with the General Assembly today, elected five judges to the International Court of Justice for nine-year terms beginning on 6 February 2021.
Welcoming recent political rapprochement between Sudan and South Sudan but calling on those countries to make more progress on border issues, the Security Council today renewed the mandate of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) until 15 May 2021.
The Security Council today extended the mandate of the Panel of Experts on Somalia until 15 December 2021, renewed the partial lifting of the arms embargo on the country’s security forces and urged the country to curb terrorist financing as well as illicit exports, including charcoal and explosive ingredients.
The Security Council today decided to extend the mandate of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) until 15 November 2021, outlining protection of civilians, supporting the peace process and preparing for elections as priorities.
Yemen is again teetering on the brink of famine, senior United Nations officials told the Security Council during a 11 November videoconference meeting, reiterating their calls for donors to scale up relief funding and for the warring parties to sign the Joint Declaration for a nationwide ceasefire, economic and humanitarian measures and the resumption of peace talks.
The Security Council, meeting independently from but concurrently with the General Assembly in an initial round of voting today, was not yet able to fill five open seats on the International Court of Justice.
Against the welcome backdrop of a newly signed ceasefire and fresh political talks in Libya, States must recommit to bringing justice to the victims of the country’s worst atrocity crimes, the International Criminal Court’s top prosecutor told the Security Council during a videoconference meeting today, describing the failure to arrest and surrender fugitives as a “major stumbling block” impeding her work.
