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(JULY 2-8)
According to reports, the UN Security Council extended the mandate of the UN mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and also stressed on the need for the mission to focus on capacity-building efforts. The Government of South Sudan was called on to take greater responsibility for the protection of civilians and encouraged its cooperation with the mission.
In another development, at the Eighth Round of Intergovernmental Negotiations on Equitable Representation on the Increase in the membership of the Security Council, India made a case for early reform of the Council to make it reflective of contemporary reality. India also argued that the demand for a reform model that encompasses expansion in both the permanent and non-permanent categories is a fundamental one and therefore should be the starting point of real negotiations.
Meanwhile, the UNSC demanded the immediate and unconditional cessation of hostilities in the Mali’s northern areas and also expressed its willingness to consider the deployment of a stabilization force in the country. The Council also expressed concern about the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation and the increased terrorist threat due to the presence of members of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb.
In other developments, the UNSC strongly condemned the killing of an Indian soldier in an attack by rebel groups against UN peacekeepers in Congo and asked the Congo government to bring the perpetrators to justice.
In the interim, the World Heritage Committee’s decision to include the Western Ghats in the list of world heritage sites by the UNESCO was welcomed by India.
According to reports, the Council welcomed the beginning of work at the Arusha branch of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals. The Council also emphasized the importance of ensuring no impunity to those who committed serious crimes in Rwanda.