The Security Council today unanimously adopted a resolution renewing its authorization of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) by six months until December in support of the Government’s preparation for phase two and the Mission’s troop drawdown.
The withdrawal of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) must not create security vacuums and jeopardize the protection of civilians, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today, as speakers called for a gradual, responsible and conditions-based transition.
Since her last briefing to the 15-nation organ, the war in Ukraine has escalated while prospects for peace remain “desperately dim” amid a surge in Russian Federation missile barrages and drone attacks, a senior United Nations official warned the Security Council today, as members called for adherence to international humanitarian law and access to civilians impacted by the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam.
While Somalia has made significant progress across multiple sectors over recent months, collective engagement was still critical to ensure the country was not only prepared to assume responsibility for its own security alongside the drawdown of international presence on the ground, but also supported in tackling a looming and complex humanitarian crisis, speakers told the Security Council today.
With women and girls facing “gender apartheid” in Afghanistan, excluded from all aspects of education and public life, speakers today urged the Security Council and the international community to compel the Taliban de facto authorities to cease its despotic and inhumane measures or remain isolated from global affairs.
Providing encouraging news about the decline in piracy and armed robbery at sea in the Gulf of Guinea, briefers from both the United Nations and regional organizations also stressed the need to address obstacles hindering the complete implementation of the interregional maritime security mechanism — the Yaoundé Architecture — as the Security Council took up the matter of peace and security in Africa today.
The United Nations top official for South Sudan today warned the Security Council of a series of challenges impeding progress of the country’s Revitalized Peace Agreement, chief among them an influx of returnees from Sudan, escalating violence in Malakal and the need to establish civic and political space before conducting credible elections.
The political situation in the Central African Republic remains fragile amid the announcement of a constitutional reform — with a referendum scheduled for 30 July 2023 — senior United Nations officials told the Security Council today as members voiced disappointment that historic local elections have been deprioritized and delayed in favour of a referendum that risks destabilizing the country.
A senior United Nations official today told the Security Council — intent on ensuring Libya’s progress towards elections later this year to unify the country’s divided Government — that success hinges on a legal framework and a political agreement involving all stakeholders.
On 2 June 2023, the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolution 751 (1992) concerning Al-Shabaab held informal consultations to hear the presentation of the midterm update by the Panel of Experts on Somalia.
