Security Council

The President of the Security Council today referred the membership application of the Republic of South Sudan to its Committee on the Admission of New Members — the first step for the newly independent African country to join the United Nations. Should South Sudan’s application be approved by the 15-member Council and the 192-nation General Assembly, it will become the world body’s 193rd member.

While commending the institutional and governance improvements that had helped resolve both long-brewing and unexpected political crises in West Africa over the past year, the top United Nations envoy in the subregion today urged the Security Council to remain vigilant because elections scheduled between now and 2013 held the potential to ignite simmering tensions that could lead to renewed violence and instability.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Peter Wittig ( Germany):

Acting on the day before the birth of the independent Republic of South Sudan, and reaffirming its strong commitment to its sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and national unity, the Security Council today authorized the deployment of a peacekeeping force in the world’s newest country.

The following Security Council statement was issued today by Council President Peter Wittig (Germany):

At the intersection of critical conflict zones and impacted by insecurity in neighbouring Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic was at a crossroads, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in that country told the Security Council today.

On 30 June 2011, the Security Council decided to change the name of its Committee established pursuant to resolution 1267 (1999).

On 28 June 2011, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1572 (2004) concerning Côte d’Ivoire adopted revised Guidelines for the conduct of its work.

With Afghanistan set for a mid-July launch of its two-year transition process — covering security, governance and efforts to bring opposition groups into the political mainstream — the top United Nations official in that country told the Security Council today that the “train was on track and moving forward”, but to be successful, it must be underpinned by the socio-economic development that the Afghan people so desperately needed and deserved.

Acting on the request of the President of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the Security Council decided this morning that, notwithstanding the relevant articles of the court’s Statute, ad litem judges may be eligible to stand for, and vote in, elections for its presidency.