Security Council

The Security Council today voiced its deep concerns about the growing insecurity, the continued rise in violence, and the persisting political impasse in Burundi, marked by a lack of dialogue among Burundian stakeholders. 

Libya presented fertile ground for Al-Qaida and the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant/Sham (ISIL/ISIS) to exploit an already difficult situation, the Chair of the sanctions committee monitoring those militant groups told the Security Council this afternoon.

The failure of the parties to the Syrian conflict to uphold the basic tenets of international humanitarian and human rights law had propelled the Syrian people to levels of tragedy and despair that could barely have been imagined five years ago, Stephen O’Brien, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, told the Security Council this morning.

On 26 October 2015, the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999) and 1989 (2011) concerning Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities removed the name below from the Al-Qaida Sanctions List after concluding its consideration of the delisting requests for this name submitted through the Office of the Ombudsperson established pursuant to Security Council resolution 1904 (2009), and after considering the Comprehensive Report of the Ombudsperson on this delisting request.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Román Oyarzun Marchesi (Spain):

Following recent delays, warring parties in Yemen had agreed to take part in United Nations‑sponsored peace talks aimed at ending the fighting based on the framework set out in resolution 2216 (2015), the Secretary‑General’s Special Envoy in that country told the Security Council today, underlining the importance of its support to both sides, as positions remained “very divergent”.

The Security Council this morning extended the arms embargo on Somalia until 15 November 2016 while reaffirming the country’s sovereignty over its natural resources.  It also reaffirmed the arms embargo on Eritrea.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict had entered a “dangerous” phase amid a fresh wave of violence in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, the Deputy Secretary-General told the Security Council today as he pressed leaders from both sides to publicly take a stand against extremism and incitement, as failure to do so left the door open to promote destructive extremist agendas.

On 20 October 2015, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 2127 (2013) concerning the Central African Republic enacted the amendments specified with strikethrough and underline in the entry below on its Sanctions List of individuals and entities subject to the assets freeze and travel ban set out in paragraphs 4 and 7 of Security Council resolution 2196 (2015) adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations:

The use of the veto, cooperation with the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council, as well as with regional organizations and troop- and police-contributing countries, and procedures to appoint the new Secretary-General were among topics addressed by speakers at today’s Security Council’s open debate on that body’s working methods.