Security Council

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.

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.

The following Security Council statement was issued on 25 November by Council President Liu Jieyi (China):

On 21 November 2013, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1572 (2004) concerning Côte d’Ivoire considered the midterm report of the Group of Experts on Côte d’Ivoire dated 14 October 2013 (S/2013/605), which is available on the Committee’s website.

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

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.

A sustained international focus was needed to eradicate the multitude of threats that had blighted Central Africa for years — from the security crisis in the Central African Republic, to piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, to the unrelenting terrorist threat posed by the Lord’s Resistance Army — the senior United Nations official in the region told the Security Council today.

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