Calling on the Security Council to view the recent violence along the Gaza border as part of a larger picture — in which political stagnation, frustration and disillusionment were mounting across the wider Palestinian diaspora — the senior United Nations official in Jerusalem today urged all parties to the conflict to rein in provocations, address urgent humanitarian needs and support the resumption of peace talks aimed at ending the long-entrenched conflict.
Under no circumstances could parties to conflict or their supporters be exempt from the global legal regime protecting civilians, the Security Council heard today, with some speakers urging even stricter adherence to those crucial international norms against today’s complex backdrop of proxy wars and asymmetric threats.
Briefing the Security Council on Libya’s complex security and political situation today, the senior United Nations official in that country emphasized that beneath both its challenges and emerging bright spots lay the population’s urgent desire to leave nearly a decade of violence and instability behind.
As the “gate-keeper” and upholder of international law for the United Nations 193 Member States, the Security Council must quickly rectify failures in discharging its mandated duties of prohibiting the use of force and maintaining global peace and security, delegates heard today during an open debate.
The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Joanna Wronecka (Poland):
The intensity of international confrontations over Syria during the last month were unprecedented since 1973, the Special Envoy told the Security Council today, underscoring the need for “careful diplomacy” to support de-escalation, avoid miscalculations and facilitate genuine communication about sustainably ending the conflict.
While small forward steps to break a languishing political impasse in Guinea‑Bissau were hopeful ahead of elections and the resumption of National Assembly plenary meetings, threats such as rampant drug trafficking and shortfalls in electoral project financing could hamper further gains, the Security Council heard today.
The Security Council today decided to extend, for six months, mandates of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) relating to the delivery of humanitarian assistance and the protection of civilians, among others, while also underlining that its tasks relating to the contested region’s Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism would be extended no further unless the parties to the dispute accelerated progress in several key areas.
A reported 60 Palestinians were killed on 14 May during protests at the perimeter fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel, the deadliest day of violence since 2014, the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process told the Security Council today, condemning the actions leading up to the bloodshed and calling for an independent investigation.
The recent approval of Somalia’s security transition plan by the Council of Ministers, and its endorsement by the African Union Peace and Security Council, marked a milestone in the country’s path towards assuming full responsibility for its own stability, the Secretary‑General’s Special Representative told the Security Council today.
