Security Council

The Security Council today unanimously approved the creation of a 12,600 member peacekeeping force in the West African nation of Mali, strongly condemning the January offensive by armed groups towards the south and stressing that terrorism could only be defeated by a sustained and comprehensive approach to isolate the terrorist threat.

Welcoming the commitment of the parties to continue the process of negotiation through United Nations sponsored talks to find a political solution to the long-standing dispute in Western Sahara, the Security Council today extended through 30 April 2014 the mandate of the United Nations Mission there.

As the “grim” tragedy inside Syria continued to deteriorate, it was even more vital that all parties worked collectively to preserve stability in the Middle East, Jeffrey Feltman, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, told the Security Council today, stressing that advancing the Israeli-Palestinian peace process was central to ensuring the region did not risk further destabilization.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Eugène-Richard Gasana (Rwanda):

On 22 April 2013, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1988 (2011) enacted the amendments specified with strikethrough and underline in the entries below to its List (the 1988 List) of individuals and entities subject to the assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo set out in paragraph 1 of Security Council resolution 2082 (2012) adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations:

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Eugène-Richard Gasana (Rwanda):

Describing the situation in Syria as a “humanitarian catastrophe” with ordinary people paying the price for the failure to end the conflict, a senior United Nations official said today that even amid that grim reality and the possibility looming that humanitarian programmes critical to ease the suffering might have to be shut down, the Security Council had been unable to reach the consensus needed to support a political resolution to the crisis.

On 15 April 2013, the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999) and 1989 (2011) concerning Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities adopted revised Guidelines for the Conduct of its Work. The Guidelines were revised in compliance with paragraph 46 of Security Council resolution 2083 (2012), which directed the Committee to review its Guidelines.

Despite success in cracking the silence around the systematic use of sexual violence as a war tactic, it persisted as one of the world’s most vicious crimes, destroying individual lives and terrorizing communities, delegates in the Security Council stressed today, calling on the 15-member body to ratchet up pressure on perpetrators and use its full means to prevent its occurrence.

On 15 April 2013, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1988 (2011) adopted revised Guidelines for the Conduct of its Work. The Guidelines were revised in compliance with paragraph 30 of Security Council resolution 2082 (2012), which directed the Committee to review its Guidelines.