On 16 July 2018, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 2048 (2012) concerning Guinea‑Bissau held informal consultations to hear a briefing by the Chair on his visit to Guinea‑Bissau and Guinea, from 25 to 29 June 2018.
On the heels of the landmark rapprochement between Ethiopia and Eritrea, which ended two decades of hostility, the international community must honour its responsibilities to support historic efforts to build peace in the Horn of Africa, the Security Council heard today following a briefing on the recent visit to the region by the Sanctions Committee on Eritrea and Somalia.
The Security Council renewed today its authorization of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) for another 10 months, deciding to reduce uniformed personnel to 20,626 by 28 February 2019, and cautioning against any further delay in lowering that number beyond that date.
The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Olof Skoog (Sweden):
The United Nations has verified that more than 7,000 children lost their lives or were maimed since the crisis in Syria erupted in 2011, the Secretary‑General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict told the Security Council today, noting that unverified reports escalate that figure “way beyond” 20,000.
While upcoming elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have generated “great expectations” for shoring up the county’s stability, the electoral process continues to suffer from distrust between the political opposition and the Independent National Electoral Commission, the Secretary‑General’s Special Representative in that country told the Security Council today.
Members of the Security Council joined the Head of the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia today in welcoming progress in the implementation of the South American nation’s landmark peace agreement, while expressing worries over a rash of violence that risks imperilling hard‑won gains.
The Security Council authorized a six‑month mandate renewal for the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) today, and called upon the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities as well as all parties involved to commit fully to a settlement process, using United Nations consultations to restart negotiations.
The outbreak of a new conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip is “almost a certainty” unless the international community gets to work immediately to ease tensions on the ground, without losing sight of the broader aim of a sustainable peace, the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process told the Security Council today.
The Security Council noted today the conclusion of the voter registration process in Afghanistan on 18 July, in which 8.9 million people registered — including more than 3 million women — to vote in parliamentary and district council elections on 20 October 2018, and in presidential elections in 2019.
