5 March 2014 – The Security Council today extended for another 13 months the mandate of the panel of experts dealing with United Nations sanctions imposed on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) for testing nuclear arms. Sanctions were first imposed on DPRK by the Council following nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009, including a ban on the import of nuclear and missile technology. The sanctions were further tightened in January 2013 after the country reportedly launched a long-range Unha-3 rocket from its west coast, and then again in March 2013 after another nuclear test. The Council created the…
Author: UN News
6 March 2014 – Concerned by gunfire near its compound in Juba, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in South sudan (UNMISS) has called on all parties to respect the work and inviolability of UN premises, which are protecting some 43,000 civilians in its sites in the capital. Juba is “tense” with some shots fired in the vicinity of the UN House, a UN spokesperson told journalist in New York citing the latest information from UNMISS. “Firing also occurred close to the UN House yesterday evening. However, the situation within the compound is calm,” the spokesperson said, adding that at least…
6 March 2014 – Farmers in south-central Somalia – the country’s “grain basket,” which has been severely affected by conflict and drought in recent years – are for the first time growing and selling grain for other Somalis as part of a United Nations-supported initiative. “This initiative shows that Somali farmers are not helpless. With minimal assistance including agricultural inputs, tools, technical skills in storage, grading and marketing, they can make a great difference,” said Luca Alinovi, outgoing representative in Somalia for the UN Food and Agricultural Organization’s (FAO), one of the two UN agencies backing the project. UN World…
6 March 2014 – Top United Nations officials today underscored the need for urgent action to confront the myriad challenges facing the Central African Republic (CAR), as the Security Council considered Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s proposals for deploying a peacekeeping mission that will be tasked, first and foremost, with protecting civilians in the strife-torn nation. “The situation in Car remains extremely grave and urgent action by all – including by this Council – is required to prevent further bloodshed,” Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos told the 15-member body. Ms. Amos, who recently visited the country, reported that the crisis that…
5 March 2014 – The United Nations Security Council today unanimously agreed to extend a partial weapons ban on Somalia for eight months amid reports that Al-Shabaab and other armed groups are able to divert arms and ammunition intended for Government forces. “All Member States are required to take the necessary measures to prevent the direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer of weapons and military equipment to designated individuals and entities, which includes Al-Shabaab,” the Council wrote in the resolution. The text, which extends the ban through 25 October, cites reports by the Somalia and Eritrea Monitoring Group (SEMG)…
5 March 2014 – Widespread attacks and sieges on civilian areas in Syria by pro-Government forces are leading to mass casualties, malnutrition and starvation, says a United Nations-appointed human rights panel, which also cited inaction by the Security Council as an enabler for the escalating violence. The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, which was appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, found that fighting around Yarmouk camp and other areas in Reef Damascus must cease immediately for the supply of humanitarian assistance to reach affected civilians. For the first time, noted a news release on the report, the…
5 March 2014 – A recent acceleration of efforts by Syria and the submission of a revised timeline for removing toxic agents bode well for meeting the 30 June 2014 deadline for destroying the country’s chemical weapons programme, the official charged with overseeing the venture said today after briefing the United Nations Security Council on progress to date. On Tuesday the Joint Mission of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the United Nations verified that two more consignments of chemicals left the port of Latakia, including a quantity of mustard gas – a Priority 1 chemical…
5 March 2014 – A United Nations committee on Palestinian rights today called on the Security Council to act quickly to address “alarming” developments in East Jerusalem, including increasing incursions by Israeli extremists and political leaders on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. The Bureau of the General Assembly’s Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, in a statement issued in New York, said such incidents provoke Palestinian and other Muslim worshippers and often lead to clashes, in which Palestinian civilians are injured, tear-gassed and detained. In another “worrying” development, the Israeli Parliament recently began a debate…
5 March 2014 – The United Nations has confirmed that Senior Advisor Robert Serry is in good shape physically after being threatened today during his visit to Crimea, Ukraine, by armed men who ordered him to leave the region. “He was met outside the main naval headquarters by a number of unidentified men who were saying that he should leave Crimea and go to the airport,” Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson told reporters in New York, as he briefed via telephone from the Ukrainian capital, Kiev. Mr. Serry apparently returned to his vehicle, and when the car could not drive away,…
4 March 2014 – As the situation in Ukraine remains in flux, senior United Nations officials in the region and elsewhere in Europe continue to push for a diplomatic solution to the crisis, with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today stressing the need for calm and international unity in the pursuit of peace. Mr. Ban, who is on an official visit to Geneva, met today with Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the Foreign Minister of Germany. According to the UN chief’s spokesman, the two officials discussed the urgent need to de-escalate tensions in Ukraine and facilitate dialogue for a peaceful resolution. This meeting, in which…