Credible and inclusive elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, followed by a peaceful transfer of power, would have a positive effect on peace, stability and development in the wider Great Lakes region of Central Africa, speakers said today as the Security Council debated regional developments that also included humanitarian concerns and the activities of armed groups.
In an emergency meeting following claims of chemical weapons attacks against civilians in Douma, Syria, both Security Council members and officials briefing them voiced grave concern that the use of such weapons risked being normalized — and could contribute to rapidly escalating tensions between world Powers — for the first time since the end of the cold war.
On 16 March 2018, members of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 2127 (2013) concerning the Central African Republic were briefed by the Panel of Experts on the Central African Republic in connection with the Panel’s work programme.
The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Gustavo Meza-Cuadra (Peru):
The Security Council met this afternoon for the second time in less than a month to discuss a nerve-agent attack against Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the British city of Salisbury in March, with the representative of the Russian Federation — which had requested the meeting — saying the United Kingdom was engaged in “a theatre of the absurd” by seeking to pin responsibility on his country.
On 23 March 2018, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1533 (2004) concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo met with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Head of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) on the arms embargo monitoring mandate of MONUSCO. Also present during the meeting were the representatives of MONUSCO’s Joint Mission Analysis Centre (JMAC), United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) and the Coordinator of the Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Security Council today expressed deep concern over the political situation in Burundi, the slow progress of the inter‑Burundian dialogue and the lack of engagement by the Government in that process.
The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Gustavo Meza-Cuadra (Peru):
The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Gustavo Meza-Cuadra (Peru):
After more than four years of work, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was still unable to verify that Syria’s initial declaration on its chemical weapons programme was accurate, delegates told the Security Council today, underlining that questions remained about the use of such weapons in that country.
