Security Council

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Karel Jan Gustaaf van Oosterom (Netherlands):

The Security Council would organize several of its March meetings to correspond with important international events, including International Women’s Day and World Water Day, said Karel J.G. van Oosterom (Netherlands), Council President for the month, as he presented his delegation’s priorities during a Headquarters press briefing today.

The Security Council today decided that a vacancy on the International Court of Justice would be filled by election in June.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Mansour Ayyad Sh. A. Alotaibi (Kuwait):

The Security Council today decided to extend until 28 February 2019 the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea‑Bissau (UNIOGBIS), also deciding to review the sanctions imposed on that country and pledging to take additional measures if its crisis continued to worsen.

Despite the Security Council’s united call just days ago for a ceasefire in Syria, deadly fighting continued, throwing the body’s credibility into question, members heard today as United Nations political and humanitarian chiefs provided updates on the dismal situation on the ground.

As catastrophic levels of starvation, disease and violence continued to ravage Yemen, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy told the Security Council today that a peace agreement had nearly been reached and only the country’s decision makers could stop the war and bloodshed.

Briefing the Security Council today on the outcome of a recently completed review of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), officials voiced concern over such challenges as the politicization of the peacekeeping operation’s protection of civilian sites, urging the 15-member organ to consider those elements in the upcoming renewal of — and possible adjustments to — its mandate on the ground.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Mansour Ayyad Sh. A. Alotaibi (Kuwait):

Against a backdrop of political tensions and a calm but volatile security situation in Burundi, heightened attention was needed to prevent the country from reversing hard-won gains, the Secretary‑General’s Special Envoy told the Security Council today.