Security Council

Welcoming the encouraging progress made so far in the fully fledged negotiations on Cyprus, as well as the prospect of further decisive progress in the coming months towards a comprehensive and durable settlement resulting from those talks, the Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) for a further period ending 19 July 2012.

The Security Council, meeting concurrently with but independently of the General Assembly, today elected Julia Sebutinde of Uganda as the fifth Judge of the International Court of Justice.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Vitaly Churkin (Russian Federation):

On 13 December 2011, the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999) and 1989 (2011) enacted the amendments specified with strikethrough and underline in the entries below on 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 1989 (2011) adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations.

Deeming the present juncture in Somalia as crucial for the international community, the country’s people and the region’s stability, the Secretary-General told the Security Council today: “We finally face a moment of fresh opportunities. We must seize it.”

The following Security Council statement was issued today by Council President Vitaly Churkin (Russian Federation):

The fragile security situation along the border of Sudan and South Sudan required the prompt return of both parties to the negotiating table to prevent a further descent into violence that could impact the whole region, the head of United Nations peacekeeping told the Security Council today.

On 6 December 2011, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1518 (2003) approved the deletion (de-listing) of one entry specified below from the list of individuals established pursuant to Security Council resolution 1483 (2003). The sanctions measures set out in paragraph 23 of Security Council resolution 1483 (2003) therefore no longer apply to the following individual:

The Presidents of the ad hoc International Tribunals investigating war crimes committed during the Balkan wars of the 1990s and the 1994 Rwanda genocide today highlighted the contributions of those courts to international criminal law, but cautioned the Security Council that limited resources, lack of State cooperation in critical areas and ongoing staffing challenges threatened the successful completion of their work.

Despite extreme poverty, rampant unemployment and isolated violent incidents, Burundi’s overall political and security landscapes were “calm” with much anticipated for the Government’s long-term vision, the top United Nations official in that country told the Security Council today.