On 19 May 2017, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1970 (2011) concerning Libya held informal consultations to consider the final report of the Panel of Experts, submitted pursuant to paragraph 13 of resolution 2278 (2016).
Initial findings from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) fact-finding mission in Syria had found evidence of sulfur mustard in samples taken from an alleged attack on 16 September 2016, while analysis of samples collected in relation to an alleged April incident in Khan Shaykhoun had revealed exposure to sarin or a sarin-like substance, the United Nations disarmament chief reported today.
The commanders of four United Nations peacekeeping missions briefed the Security Council this afternoon, emphasizing the need to “go beyond the traditional peacekeeping box” and overcome bureaucratic hurdles, as the Organization’s signature function adapted to ever-evolving challenges.
The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Elbio Rosselli (Uruguay):
The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Elbio Rosselli (Uruguay):
On 12 May, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 2127 (2013) concerning the Central African Republic held informal consultations in connection with the progress update of the Panel of Experts and a briefing by the United Nations Mine Action Service in assisting the Central African Republic authorities in the management of weapons and ammunition.
Small but significant steps were being made in political efforts to end the conflict in Syria on the heels of an agreement on creating de-escalation zones in that country, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy told the Security Council today, while warning of persistent fighting in some areas and the threat still posed by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh).
The members of the Security Council strongly condemned the most recent ballistic missile launch conducted by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on 21 May 2017. The members of the Security Council expressed their utmost concern over the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s highly destabilizing behaviour and flagrant and provocative defiance of the Security Council by conducting this ballistic missile launch in violation of its international obligations under United Nations Security Council resolutions 1718 (2006), 1874 (2009), 2087 (2013), 2094 (2013), 2270 (2016) and 2321 (2016).
With the liberation of Mosul imminent, the international community must maintain a dual focus on defeating the remaining Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) forces in Iraq, and on working towards post-conflict security and reconstruction, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative said in a briefing to the Security Council today.
While Bosnia and Herzegovina was largely stable and had made considerable political strides, its continued progress must not be taken for granted, the senior United Nations official in the country warned the Security Council today, while expressing concern over divisive trends that risked reopening the Federation’s “wounds of the past”.
