Security Council

States on the front lines were in a unique position to assess the nature of the terrorism threat in their regions and keep the international community informed, the Security Council heard this morning in a review of the work of its anti-terrorism committees.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council Presdient Liu Jieyi (China):

Speaking at a Headquarters press conference today, the Security Council President for November noted that 17 open sessions and 13 closed consultations had been held to consider 20 agenda items, including the Middle East, Iran, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, South Sudan, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the work of the sanctions committees.

Progress in restoring constitutional order in Guinea-Bissau following the 2012 coup d’état remained “frustratingly slow” amid electoral delays and a generalized climate of fear, the United Nations senior official in the West African country told the Security Council today, stressing that the onus was now on the transitional Government to ensure the timely holding of presidential and legislative elections next year.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Liu Jieyi (China):

On 25 November 2013, the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999) and 1989 (2011) approved the addition of the entry specified below to its Al-Qaida Sanctions List of individuals and entities subject to the assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo set out in paragraph 1 of Security Council resolution 2083 (2012) adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations.

The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) until 31 May 2014, underscoring that the Force’s mandate included taking the necessary actions to protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence, irrespective of the source.

Reiterating its strong condemnation of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and its use of children in armed conflict, the Security Council today demanded that the group immediately cease all hostilities, release all abductees, and disarm and demobilize.

The Central African Republic was "a failed State headed by a fragile transitional Government" that was powerless to bring the country out of the crisis, the Security Council heard today from a senior official of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) in a meeting where several speakers called for the deployment of a multifaceted peacekeeping mission to that country.

Iraq’s deteriorating security environment and entrenched political deadlock were being exploited by terrorists intent on fomenting sectarian violence, the senior United Nations official in the country told the Security Council today, urging the 15-member body to support Iraqis’ aspirations to build a peaceful, inclusive and democratic nation.