Security Council

While the current respite in the "unprecedented" destruction and bloodshed in Gaza was welcome and humanitarian aid was primary, it was critical to end the conflict by reversing the loss of hope in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, the United Nations Special Coordinator for that process told the Security Council this morning.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Mark Lyall Grant (United Kingdom):

Calling on all United Nations Member States to act to suppress the flow of foreign fighters, financing and other support to Islamist extremist groups in Iraq and Syria, the Security Council this afternoon put six persons affiliated to those groups on its terrorist sanctions list.

On 15 August 2014, the Security Council approved the addition of six individuals to the Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee’s list of individuals and entities subject to the targeted financial sanctions and the arms embargo set out in paragraph 1 of Security Council resolution 2161 (2014), adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Mark Lyall Grant (United Kingdom):

At its 48th meeting, on 7 July 2014, the Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict agreed, in connection with the examination of the first report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in Mali (document S/2014/267), to address the following message through a public statement issued by the Chair of the Working Group:

Intense fighting in Donetsk and Luhansk was resulting in mounting casualties and serious infrastructure damage, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council this morning. “The price being paid by all Ukrainians as a result of the conflict is too high,” said Ivan Šimonović, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, as he briefed the 15-Member body on the situation in Ukraine, underlining the need for a peaceful solution to the situation.

Despite greatly improved security and last year’s surrender of the “M23”, the protracted conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo would persist if other remaining armed groups in the country’s east failed to lay down their weapons too, a senior United Nations official warned the Security Council today.

Despite a challenging operational environment, the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) continued to implement its strategic priorities and streamline its operations, the mission’s head told the Security Council this afternoon.