U.N. Security Council - The African Mirror

Feb

2024

Security Council ‘perhaps fatally’ undermined by Gaza, Ukraine deadlock, says UN chief

UNITED Nations chief Antonio Guterres deplored the U.N. Security Council's deadlock over the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, saying divisions among its members had "perhaps fatally" undermined its authority. Speaking at the opening of the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, Guterres said the U.N. Security Council often found itself "unable to act on the most significant peace and security issues of our time". "The Council's lack of unity on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and on Israel's military operations in Gaza following the horrific terror attacks by Hamas on 7 October, has severely – perhaps fatally – undermined its…

Jan

2024

By MICHELLE NICHOLS

ICC prosecutor believes warring parties committing war crimes in Darfur

NEWS

THE International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor told the U.N. Security Council that "there are grounds to believe" both Sudan's regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are committing war crimes in Darfur at present. War erupted in Sudan on April 15, 2023, between the Sudanese armed forces and the RSF. ICC prosecutor Karim Khan launched an investigation in July last year into the surge of hostilities in Sudan's Darfur region. The ICC's founding treaty, the Rome Statute, gives the court jurisdiction over four major crimes - genocide, crimes against humanity, crimes of aggression and war crimes - that are grave…

Jan

2024

By The African Mirror

UN says 2,000 peacekeepers to leave eastern Congo in withdrawal’s first phase

NEWS

ABOUT 2,000 U.N. troops will leave restive eastern areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo by the end of April in the first phase of the peacekeeping mission's planned withdrawal from the country, the head of mission said on Saturday. The U.N. Security Council approved the end of the mission in December following a request by Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi in September to fast-track the withdrawal of the peacekeepers. The currently 13,500-strong force, known as MONUSCO, took over from an earlier U.N. operation in 2010 to help quell insecurity in the east of the Central African country, where armed groups fight over territory and…

Dec

2023

By NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI and EMILY ROSE

Fighting rages in northern Gaza after U.N. stops short of ceasefire call

WORLD

ISRAEL battled Hamas militants on Saturday in pursuit of its elusive interim goal of full control of northern Gaza after the U.N. Security Council appealed for more aid for the Palestinian enclave but stopped short of demanding a ceasefire. Thick smoke hung over the northern town of Jabalia - which is also home to Gaza's largest refugee camp - and residents reported persistent aerial bombardment and shelling from Israeli tanks, which they said had moved further into the town. Hamas' armed wing Al Qassam Brigades said it had destroyed five Israeli tanks in the area, killing and injuring their crews,…

Dec

2023

By SOO-HYANG CHOI and KANTARO KOMIYA

North Korea fires ICBM after condemning US ‘war’ moves

WORLD

NORTH Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile that has a range to hit anywhere in the United States, said South Korea and Japan, marking its second launch in hours as Pyongyang condemned a U.S.-led show of force as "war" moves. The missile has the potential to travel more than 15,000 km (9,300 miles), meaning it can reach anywhere in Japan and the mainland United States, Japan's Parliamentary Vice Minister of Defence Shingo Miyake said. The U.N. Security Council is due to meet on Tuesday at the request of the U.S. and other states to discuss the launch. South Korea's National…

Dec

2023

By BASSAM MASOUD and NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI

Israel orders more evacuations in Khan Younis after US blocks Gaza ceasefire call

WORLD

ISRAEL ordered residents out of the centre of Gaza's main southern city Khan Younis and pounded the length of the enclave, after the United States wielded its U.N. Security Council veto to shield its ally from a demand for a ceasefire. Since a truce collapsed last week, Israel has expanded its ground assault into the southern half of the Gaza Strip by pushing into Khan Younis. Simultaneously, both sides have reported a surge in fighting in the north. Israel said its campaign was making progress. National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said Israeli forces had killed at least 7,000 Hamas militants so far,…

Aug

2021

By The African Mirror

U.N. says Afghan war has entered ‘deadlier and more destructive phase’

WORLD

MICHELLE NICHOLS THE U.N. special envoy for Afghanistan on Friday questioned the Taliban's commitment to a political settlement, telling the U.N. Security Council the war has entered a "deadlier and more destructive phase" with more than 1,000 civilians killed in the past month during a Taliban offensive. "A party that was genuinely committed to a negotiated settlement would not risk so many civilian casualties, because it would understand that the process of reconciliation will be more challenging, the more blood is shed," Deborah Lyons said. The Taliban has stepped up its campaign to defeat the U.S.-backed government since April as…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

Russians accused of CAR abuses

NEWS

MICHELLE NICHOLS RUSSIAN military instructors and Central African Republic (CAR) troops targeted civilians with excessive force, indiscriminate killings, occupation of schools and large-scale looting, according to a United Nations report seen by Reuters. The sanctions experts report to the U.N. Security Council also accuses groups linked to the Coalition of Patriots for Change (CPC) rebels of forced recruitment of children, attacks on peacekeepers, sexual violence and the looting of aid groups. Russia and France, which has some 300 troops in the African nation, have been competing for influence in the gold and diamond-rich country of 4.7 million. Russia sent hundreds…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

Gabon, Ghana elected to U.N. Security Council

NEWS

THE U.N. General Assembly elected Albania, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana, and the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations Security Council for a two-year term starting on January 1, 2022. All five countries ran unopposed for a spot on the 15-member body, which is charged with maintaining international peace and security. They will replace Estonia, Niger, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tunisia and Vietnam. To ensure geographical representation, seats are allocated to regional groups. But even if candidates are running unopposed in their group, they still need to win the support of more than two-thirds of the U.N. General Assembly. Ghana…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

China, Russia undermine international Myanmar response, EU’s top diplomat says

WORLD

KATE ABNETT THE European Union's top diplomat said on Sunday Russia and China were hampering a united international response to Myanmar's military coup and that the EU could offer more economic incentives if democracy returns to the country. "It comes as no surprise that Russia and China are blocking the attempts of the U.N. Security Council, for example, to impose an arms embargo," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a blog post. "Geopolitical competition in Myanmar will make it very difficult to find common ground," said Borrell, who speaks on behalf of the 27 EU member states. "But…