Security Council

Worried about the dangerous standstill in the Israeli-Palestinian political process, the top United Nations political official today encouraged the leaders of both sides to “respond positively” to last month’s speech by United States President Barack Obama in order to move the peace talks forward.

The following Security Council press statement on Iraq/Kuwait was issued today by Council President Noël Nelson Messone (Gabon):

The head of the year-old United Nations Office to the African Union (UNOAU) briefed the Security Council today on efforts under way to broaden the strategic partnership between the two organizations on a range of shared issues, including on peacekeeping and post-conflict peacebuilding, and on raising the world body’s profile as a vital partner for capacity-building with African regional entities.

Citing the “incalculable” human and commercial costs of piracy off the Somali coast, as well as the escalating violence and expanding geographic scope of pirate attacks, the top United Nations legal official today presented the Security Council with detailed options for establishing specialized courts to try suspects in Somalia and the wider Horn of Africa region.

Northern and Southern Sudan today signed an agreement to pull their troops out of the disputed central Abyei region, scene of fierce fighting over the past few weeks, African Union mediator Thabo Mbeki announced as he urged the Security Council to move quickly to ensure implementation of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the two sides.

Recognizing that some members of the Taliban in Afghanistan had rejected the terrorist ideology of Al-Qaida and joined in the Government reconciliation process, the Security Council this afternoon decided to separate the sanctions regime on the two groups, as it created an additional mechanism to manage the new regime and extended existing ones for an additional 18 months.

On 15 June 2011, the Security Council Al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee approved the addition of the entry specified below to its Consolidated List of individuals and entities subject to the assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo set out in paragraph 1 of Security Council resolution 1904 (2009) adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations.

On 14 June 2011, the Security Council Al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee decided to remove the name of Mr. Safet Ekrem Durguti from its Consolidated List after concluding its consideration of the de-listing request submitted by this individual through the Ombudsperson established pursuant to Security Council resolution 1904 (2009), and after considering the Comprehensive Report of the Ombudsperson on this de-listing request.

The African Union will never hide from its responsibilities in helping resolve the conflict in Libya and the “time was overdue to articulate a solution together” that would protect civilians, ensure a democratic transformation and promote lasting peace, the representative of a high-level panel from the organization told the Security Council today.

On 14 June 2011, the Security Council Al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee decided to remove the name of Mr. Tarek Ben Al-Bechir Ben Amara Al‑Charaabi from its Consolidated List after concluding its consideration of the de-listing request submitted by this individual through the Ombudsperson established pursuant to Security Council resolution 1904 (2009), and after considering the Comprehensive Report of the Ombudsperson on this de-listing request.