Security Council

The Security Council will convene this morning under its agenda item “The situation in the Middle East” to discuss the situation in Yemen.

As the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals nears the end of its mandate, speakers in the Security Council today called for enhanced cooperation from Member States to ensure justice for perpetrators of atrocities, war crimes and genocide committed in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, while some urge that the “outdated” instrument be shuttered.

The General Assembly today considered the annual report of the Security Council for the period covering 1 January to 31 December 2024, with delegates assessing its functionality and also highlighting various aspects of the organ’s operations that require improvement, particularly those bordering on its primary responsibility of maintaining international peace and security.

With parliamentary elections in Iraq scheduled for 11 November, and the drawdown of the United Nations Mission there slated for the following month, the senior United Nations official in the country told the Security Council today of the progress Iraq has made — while he and other speakers also called for urgent efforts to resolve issues involving Baghdad’s relationship with the Kurdistan region and Kuwait.

On 9 June 2025, the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011) and 2253 (2015) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al‑Qaida and associated individuals, groups, undertakings and entities removed the entry below from the ISIL (Da’esh) and Al‑Qaida Sanctions List after concluding its consideration of the delisting request for this name submitted through the Office of the Ombudsperson established pursuant to Security Council resolution 1904 (2009), and of the Comprehensive Report of the Ombudsperson on this delisting request.

Briefing the Security Council today on the latest developments in Central Africa, a senior United Nations official described electoral gains coupled with security setbacks, as Council members welcomed the former, expressed concern over the latter and noted the additional threat posed by financial constraints on humanitarian operations.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett (Guyana):

Welcoming the Syrian interim authorities’ continued engagement to address chemical-weapons issues long left unresolved by that country’s previous Administration, the United Nations’ disarmament chief told the Security Council today that international support is needed to fully realize the elimination of Syria’s chemical-weapons programme.

The Security Council today failed to adopt a resolution aiming to ameliorate the plight of civilians in Gaza, as the United States vetoed the measure despite affirmative votes by the other 14 members of the 15-nation organ.

The General Assembly today elected Bahrain, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Latvia and Liberia as non-permanent members of the Security Council for a two-year term beginning on 1 January 2026.