Wars in Gaza, Ukraine Dominate Security Council’s 2023 Agenda, as Use of Veto Proliferates, Organ’s Ability to Act Hampered
Syria, Sudan, Haiti, Korean Peninsula among Other Hotspots at Centre Stage
The year 2023 witnessed a three-decade high in the number of conflicts worldwide, even before simmering situations such as those in Sudan and the Occupied Palestinian Territory boiled over. In the face of escalating violence, however, consensus proved elusive in the Security Council, with its veto-casting permanent members — primarily the United States and the Russian Federation — impeding swift, effective action to address deteriorating situations around the world.
The Council convened a total of 269 public meetings in 2023 — marginally less than in 2022, when it met 276 times — with the highest number of those devoted once again to the war in Ukraine, which continued into its second year. Council members adopted 49 resolutions, compared to 54 in 2022, representing a 10-year-low. In another mark of the widening dissension between the organ’s permanent members, a total of 10 drafts were rejected — 5 following the use of 6 vetoes, outstripping the 4 vetoes cast in 2022. Meanwhile, persistent lack of unanimity among members led to the Council adopting fewer presidential statements in 2023, as well — just six, compared to last year’s seven.
The use of the veto proliferated in 2023, wielded twice by the United States on attempted action to address Israel’s war in Gaza, and once each by China and the Russian Federation in that same context. However, the Russian Federation was — for the second year in a row — the most prolific user of the measure, casting a veto three times in total. The Council therefore faced a paradox: it met with ever-amplifying frequency, but with ever-dwindling results. Such inefficiency at times necessitated off-stage diplomatic engagements: following blocked Council action to re-authorize use of the Bab al-Hawa crossing in north-west Syria in July, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, interceded, negotiating directly with the Syrian Government to ensure its reopening for six months.
Council members were nonetheless able to find common ground and forge progress on several long-standing issues on the 15-member organ’s agenda. Coinciding with the expiring tenures of Ghana and Gabon at end of 2023, the Council met late in December to unanimously adopt a resolution put forth by those States, alongside Mozambique, that contemplated authorizing United Nations-assessed contributions for African-led peace support operations when requested by the African Union Peace and Security Council. Members also came together in October to address the deteriorating security, economic and humanitarian crises facing Haiti. Responding to repeated appeals by that State and senior UN officials, the Council unanimously authorized the deployment of a Kenya-led Multinational Security Support Mission to support the overwhelmed Haitian National Police against the depredations of armed criminal gangs.
The authorization of a regional armed international intervention outside the aegis of the United Nations coincided with demands to shutter peace support operations — primarily in Africa, where roughly half of the Organization’s blue helmets are presently deployed. The organ heard — and acquiesced to — several requests for the precipitous withdrawal of UN troops, with States professing dissatisfaction with their perceived inefficiency in tackling security threats and asserting their sovereign right to choose their security partners. In June, the Council terminated the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), deciding to withdraw its personnel by the end of 2023 and complete the Mission’s drawdown by the end of January 2024. The decision was taken at the behest of transitional authorities, despite continued violence perpetrated by extremist groups and spillover concerns expressed by regional blocs and neighbouring States. Similarly, in December, in response to Kinshasa’s repeated assertions that the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) was not able to carry out its mandate, the Council set out a comprehensive plan for its disengagement, slated to begin before the end of 2023.
States’ assertion of sovereignty continued in Sudan, with the Council adopting a resolution in December terminating the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) over an abbreviated span of three months, from February 2024, following the country’s averment that the Mission’s performance had not been commensurate with expectations. The move came at the end of a year during which the country was gripped by a severe humanitarian and human rights crisis in the wake of an upsurge in fighting on 15 April between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group. Ten days into the fighting, as armed forces clashed around the country, Secretary-General António Guterres told the Council that people in Khartoum were trapped indoors with dwindling essential supplies and health services near collapse.
On 13 September, Volker Perthes, Special Representative and Head of UNITAMS, describing indiscriminate aerial bombing by the Sudanese Armed Forces and sexual violence, looting and killing in areas controlled by the Rapid Support Forces, cautioned the Council that: “What started as a conflict between two military formations could be morphing into a full-scale civil war.” On 16 November, the Council heard from Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, that the fighting had led to 6,000 deaths and forced 7.1 million people from their homes, sparking “the world’s worst displacement crisis”.
Meanwhile, 2023 saw Syria take decisive steps towards normalizing regional relations through its readmittance into the Arab League in May following its expulsion 12 years ago, at the start of the Syrian civil war. While it was a good year for the Syrian State, which was also able to consolidate its hold over greater swathes of territory, the Syrian people remained “trapped in a humanitarian, political, military, security, economic and human rights crisis of great complexity and unimaginable scale”, the Council heard in January from the country’s Special Envoy, Geir O. Pedersen. Humanitarian needs, already acute, soared in the aftermath of earthquakes that struck the north-west in early February, killing 6,000 people in Syria, leading to calls from senior UN officials for aid to be depoliticized.
Nonetheless, the Syrian file continued to be among the most divisive issues on the Council’s agenda, with differences between permanent members coming to the fore on 11 July as a veto by the Russian Federation prevented the continuation of cross-border humanitarian aid through Bab al-Hawa. Differences persisted along the same lines, with the Russian Federation and China, alongside Syria, set against the United Kingdom, France and the United States during Council meetings on both the chemical weapons file and the political track — leading some members to voice frustration on the lack of progress on both fronts. In November, amid an upsurge of violence across the country, Najat Rochdi, Deputy Special Envoy for the country, called for sustained de-escalation and warned that “to continue such violence is to play with fire”.
However, no conflagration brought the Council’s discord to the fore as much as that in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, following the 7 October massacre of 1,200 people and seizure of 240 hostages by Palestinian militant group Hamas in Israel, and that country’s subsequent retaliatory military operations. Yet, 2023 began with the Council’s adoption, in February, of its first presidential statement on the Palestinian Question in eight years, through which members united to express concern over the announcement of expanded settlement activities by Israel’s new far-right coalition Government. In August, Tor Wennesland, the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process told the Council that 2023 was already the deadliest on record in the West Bank and Israel, with fatalities outstripping 2022’s annual figures. The lack of a political horizon left a dangerous vacuum filled by extremists on both sides, he warned.
Those words proved true throughout the last months of 2023, following Hamas’ attack and Israel’s subsequent bombardment of Gaza. The Council met eight days into Israel’s military campaign, holding what would be the first of many emergency meetings that did not call for a ceasefire due to a veto cast by the United States. Two days later, following a deadly attack on Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, the Council again failed to adopt a resolution calling for humanitarian pauses. On 25 October, the Council, yet again, was unable to adopt two texts addressing the war and consequent humanitarian crisis. On 30 October, Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), warned the Council that “an entire population is being dehumanized” in Gaza, while Israel’s delegate, who sported a gold star on his chest, asserted that he would do so until the Council condemned the atrocities of Hamas — the “modern-day Nazis”.
In the following days, as Israel’s military offensive ground on, the death toll of civilians — including journalists, doctors, UN workers, women and children — soared, and those trapped in Gaza remained deprived of basic services. Meanwhile, the Council Chamber resounded with numerous calls for a ceasefire — from UN officials, Member States and international civil society groups — who warned of dangerous regional escalation. On 15 November, the Council finally adopted a resolution calling for a truce — which lasted a week — to allow for the safe release of hostages by Hamas and detainees by Israel. On the heels of Secretary-General Guterres’s very first engagement of Article 99 of the Charter of the United Nations, the Council met on 8 December, again failing to adopt a resolution for an immediate ceasefire due to the United States’ veto. Acting a final time in 2023, members adopted a resolution on 22 December to appoint a humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for the Gaza Strip.
By this point, 20,000 Palestinians — almost half of them children — had been killed, while 85 per cent of the population — 2.3 million — had been forced from their homes into ever-smaller areas in the southern border as Egypt raised fears of mass expulsion. Meeting a final time on 29 December, as settler violence soared in the occupied West Bank, Khaled Khiari, Assistant-Secretary-General for the Middle East and Asia and the Pacific, emphasized that hostilities throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory should end with a plan to advance a two-State solution, with Gaza as an integral part of an independent Palestinian State living side by side with Israel.
The Council’s divisions again came into focus during its 40 meetings to address the war in Ukraine — now in its second year — with members discussing the conflict’s many fallouts, including on global food insecurity, the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea and the destruction of vital civilian infrastructure. Meeting on 6 February, a month before the expiry of the Black Sea Initiative, speakers told the Council that it was “a beacon of hope against a bleak backdrop”. On 24 February, the one-year anniversary of the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine, Secretary-General Guterres informed the Council that 40 per cent of the country’s population required humanitarian assistance.
As the months wore on, the United States and Albania convened meetings discussing the impact of Moscow’s military operations on civilian populations and infrastructure, while the Russian Federation held retaliatory debates on the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines and the risk of arms transfers to Kyiv from the West. In one such meeting, on 27 March, the Council failed to adopt a resolution that would have launched an independent investigation into the Nord Stream pipeline attacks. On 6 June, Under-Secretary-General Griffiths warned that the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant in Kherson could impact electricity generation. Following the Russian Federation’s suspension of the grain deal in July, Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, condemned Moscow’s attacks on Ukrainian ports and pointed to their far-reaching impacts on global food insecurity. In September, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, told the Council that his peace formula restored the power of the Charter of the United Nations. As the Russian Federation stepped up attacks on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, including energy facilities, for the second winter in a row, speakers called for accountability for Moscow’s many crimes committed during the war.
The situation in the Korean Peninsula also courted tension in the Council throughout 2023, with the organ unable to prevent Pyongyang’s steady launches — in contravention of Council resolutions — of intercontinental ballistic missiles, as well as its first military reconnaissance satellite. In the first of eight emergency meetings on the topic, following Pyongyang’s launch of a ballistic missile in February, Mr. Khiari called for Council unity to ensure the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The representative of Japan, in whose waters the missile impacted, called the sight of the falling projectile “terrifying” and urged the Council to fulfil its obligations. Convening again in July, on the heels of the launch of a more sophisticated type of long-range ballistic missile, Mr. Khiari warned that the missiles launched during the year could “reach most points on Earth”. Pyongyang’s delegate — making an appearance for the first time in the Chamber since 2017 — asserted that his country had a right to conduct launches in self-defence against the United States’ “anti-peace behaviour” in the region.
Elsewhere, Colombia pressed on with the implementation of its historic 2016 Peace Agreement, which ended more than five decades of fighting between the Government and former guerrilla group Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia-Ejército del Pueblo (FARC-EP). The accord’s implementation received a boost in 2023 through the election of President Gustavo Petro and his “total peace” policy, which aimed to promote dialogue with non-signatory armed groups. This objective was solidified with the Council’s August adoption of a resolution extending the mandate of the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia to monitor the implementation of a bilateral ceasefire between Bogotá and the guerrilla group Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN). Nonetheless, challenges remained in ensuring the security of former combatants, more than 400 of whom had been killed since the signing of the accord. As Carlos Ruiz Massieu, Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia, reported this to the Council in October, he urged the Government to implement urgent measures to protect former FARC-EP combatants, as well as social leaders and human rights defenders.
Among other situations on its agenda, the Council continued to monitor developments in Libya, which grappled with a range of old and new challenges, from a political impasse — with elections originally scheduled for 2021 still in abeyance — to sporadic violence, a deadly cyclone and human trafficking. In March, members adopted a presidential statement welcoming progress on a constitutional framework for holding elections, also reaffirming their commitment to a Libyan-led and -owned political process. The issue of migrants and human trafficking off the Libyan coast took centre stage in September, with the Council adopting a resolution to renew its authorization to allow Member States to inspect vessels on the high seas off Libya’s coast when there were reasonable grounds to believe they were participating in human trafficking.
Throughout 2023, the organ heard from a range of briefers, including UN officials, who warned that women’s rights remained under threat, two years shy of the twenty-fifth anniversary of resolution 1325 (2000), the landmark resolution on women, peace and security. During a ministerial debate on the theme in March, Sima Sami Bahous, Executive Director of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), declared: “We neither significantly changed the composition of peace tables, nor the impunity enjoyed by those who commit atrocities against women and girls,” as speakers called for funding and political will to improve women’s participation in peace and security.
In addition, the Council met in September to discuss the situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh region in the South Caucasus on the heels of Azerbaijan’s launch of what it termed “local counter-terrorism activities” in response to deaths caused by landmines allegedly placed by Armenian armed forces. A senior UN official pointed out that such developments should be viewed in the context of a “broader pattern of regular ceasefire violations”, and emphasized the need for genuine dialogue as the only sustainable way forward.
Following are summaries of public meetings held in 2023:
Middle East
Question of Palestine
Meetings: 5 January, 18 January, 20 February, 22 March, 25 April, 24 May, 27 June, 27 July, 21 August, 27 September, 16 October, 18 October, 18 October, 24 October, 25 October, 30 October, 31 October, 10 November, 15 November, 22 November, 29 November, 8 December, 8 December, 19 December, 21 December, 29 December.
Resolutions: 2712, 2720. Not adopted: 772, 795. Vetoed: 773, 792, 970.
Presidential Statements: S/PRST/2023/1.
The year 2023 proved to be the deadliest for Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory since the UN began recording fatalities in 2005. With a new coalition Government in Israel accelerating settlement activity, the Council proceeded with monthly meetings on the Palestinian Question that managed rather than solve the intractable conflict. However, the events of 7 October, when Hamas fighters invaded Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 240 hostages, disrupted that paradigm. As Israel commenced retaliatory military operations, with catastrophic results to civilians and civilian infrastructure, the 15-nation organ proved slow to react publicly and when it met to act, its efforts were stymied by a lack of consensus, as borne out by multiple vetoes and non-adoptions.
Following Israel’s new Minister for National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir’s visit on 3 January to holy sites in Jerusalem within days of his appointment, on 5 January, the Council was briefed by Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for Middle East, Asia and the Pacific in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations, who said the visit was particularly inflammatory, given the Minister’s past advocacy for changes to the status quo. The Palestinian Authority had condemned the visit, while Israel’s Prime Minister, as well as senior Government officials, emphasized commitment to upholding the status quo, he noted. Still, he warned that any incident or tension at the holy sites could spill over and cause violence throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in Israel and elsewhere in the region.
Briefing the Council at a quarterly open debate on the Palestinian Question on 18 January, Tor Wennesland, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, said that the dangerous cycle of violence that continued to persist amid increased political tensions and a long-stalled peace process, was extracting a “devastating toll”. The global community must not lose sight of the ultimate goal: to end the occupation, resolve the conflict and realize a two-State solution, he said, emphasizing: “Preventing more loss of life and reversing negative trends on the ground must be our collective priority.”
On 20 February the Council adopted a presidential statement — its first on the issue in more than eight years — expressing its deep concern and dismay with Israel’s 12 February announcement of further expansion of settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. It also reiterated that continuing Israeli settlement activities were dangerously imperilling the viability of the two-State solution based on the 1967 lines. Mr. Wennesland told the Council that the recent surge in violence included some of the deadliest incidents in nearly 20 years and called for responsible leadership to match security efforts with political steps that could halt the negative slide. Leni Stenseth, Deputy Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), observed that competing global priorities and shifting regional dynamics had “almost annihilated” any remaining attention to the plight of Palestine refugees as the political, socioeconomic and security conditions surrounding them continued to deteriorate and violence in the West Bank hampered UNRWA operations. Moreso, although UNRWA remained one of the few standing pillars of stability in the Middle East, the lack of funding put it in an impossible situation.
Mr. Wennesland, returning to the Council on 22 March during the converging Ramadan, Easter and Passover holidays, called for the status quo at the holy sites in Jerusalem to be respected at a “holy and sensitive time” for the region’s three major religions. He spotlighted two diplomatic meetings, including the first in Aqaba, Jordan, where senior officials from Jordan, Egypt, Israel, State of Palestine and the United States committed to de-escalating the situation on the ground and preventing further violence, including by upholding the status quo at the holy sites. “If implemented, the steps outlined in Aqaba would be an important start to reversing negative trends on the ground,” he said.
On 25 April, during a quarterly open debate, Mr. Wennesland reported on events that began on 4 and 5 April, when Israeli security forces entered the al-Qibli prayer hall of the Aqsa Mosque compound and forcibly removed Palestinians who were barricaded inside. Describing the incidents of violence that followed in the occupied West Bank, including the killing by Israeli security forces of 17 Palestinians, including 2 children, and the injuring of 4 women and 38 children, he expressed concern about the uptick in violence and inflammatory actions. He called for the status quo of holy sites to be respected and for security forces to exercise maximum restraint, adding: “I am appalled that children continue to be the victims of violence.”
Mr. Wennesland briefed the 15-nation organ on 24 May, after another deadly surge in violence on 9 May following the death of a Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader from an 86-day hunger strike in an Israeli jail. In an exchange of air strikes and rocket launches, 10 Palestinian civilians were killed and more than 1,100 others were displaced. While a ceasefire — reached on 13 May — was holding, he said that both sides must engage to reset a trajectory out of the cycle of violence, adding: “This escalation compounded the already dire humanitarian situation in the Strip.”
On 27 June, Mr. Wennesland warned the Council that deepening occupation, settlement-expansion, high levels of violence against civilians and the absence of a political horizon were rapidly eroding hope among Palestinians and Israelis. Citing the recent approval of amendments by the Israeli Government to its settlement-planning procedures that could expedite advancement of settlement plans, he expressed alarm over the “extreme levels of settler violence”, recalling that, as the occupying Power, Israel has an obligation to protect Palestinians and their property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. “The choice is clear: either continue along the downward spiral of violence and provocations leading to a political vacuum; or turn towards constructive dialogue linked to concrete actions that can create hope,” he stressed.
Mr. Khiari returned to the Council on 27 July, amid a deterioration in the situation in the occupied West Bank, following military operations by Israeli security forces in Jenin refugee camp on 3 and 4 July, in which 12 Palestinians, including 4 children, were killed and more than 140 injured — the most in a single operation in the West Bank since the United Nations began tracking casualties in 2005. Reporting that, from 27 June through 24 July, 25 Palestinians were killed, while, according to Israel, two Israeli security forces personnel were killed, he stressed: “This deterioration is taking place alongside ongoing unilateral steps that undermine a two-State solution, the absence of a peace process and the continuing economic challenges facing Palestinians and the Palestinian Authority.”
On 21 August, Mr. Wennesland reported that Palestinians and Israelis were being killed and injured in incidents of near-daily violence, with the year’s fatalities already surpassing 2022’s annual figures. The lack of progress towards a political horizon had left a dangerous, volatile vacuum filled with extremists on both sides, he warned. As well, he expressed concern over the Palestinian Authority’s dire fiscal situation and the funding shortages faced by UN agencies, which threatened to worsen the plight of the most vulnerable Palestinians. Providing an update on settlement-expansion, which continued unabated, he called on Israeli authorities to end demolitions of Palestinian-owned property and the displacement and eviction of Palestinians, and to approve plans that would enable them to build legally and address their development needs.
Settlement-expansion took centre stage again on 27 September, with Mr. Wennesland reporting that such activities had been expedited, following plans advanced by Israeli authorities for 6,300 housing units in West Bank’s Area C — administered by Israel — and 3,580 housing units in East Jerusalem, annexed by Israel in 1980. As a result, many Palestinians, including children, were leaving their communities, citing violence by settlers and shrinking grazing land. Stating that 68 Palestinians were killed by Israeli security forces and 10 Israelis by Palestinians over the previous weeks, he echoed United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres’ call on the Government of Israel to cease settlement activity and the demolition and seizure of Palestinian structures.
On 7 October, fighters from Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups crossed over into southern Israel, launching “Operation al-Aqsa Deluge”, killing 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals and returning to Gaza, taking 240 civilians and soldiers hostage. On the same day, Israel’s Security Cabinet declared a state of war, launching “Operation Swords of Iron”, targeting 5,000 locations across Gaza, which they said were Hamas sites. The Council met on 8 October in consultations, but it would take another eight days for them to hold the first public meeting. At that point, Israel had announced a complete siege of Gaza, blocking all entry of goods, including electricity, water, food and fuel. On 13 October, more than a million Gazans in the north of the Strip were told to leave their homes within 24 hours through paper notices that dropped from the sky.
Nine days into Israel’s retaliatory bombardment of Gaza, the Council convened several times in a single week, to discuss the issue and attempt — unsuccessfully — to take action, including on 16 October, when it failed to adopt a draft resolution put forth by the Russian Federation, which would have called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. Receiving five votes in favour (China, Gabon, Mozambique, Russian Federation, United Arab Emirates), four delegations — including those of two permanent members — voted against it (France, Japan, United Kingdom, United States), while the six remaining members (Albania, Brazil, Ecuador, Ghana, Malta, Switzerland) abstained. Following the vote, the United States’ delegate stressed that it was the Council’s responsibility to address the crisis, unequivocally condemn Hamas and support Israel’s right to self-defence under the Charter of the United Nations. The United Kingdom’s delegate added she could not support a document that failed to condemn Hamas’ attacks. Israel’s delegate urged the Council to support his country’s right to defend itself for its self-preservation. Meanwhile, the Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine, pointing to Gaza’s collapsed humanitarian and health system, as well as the displacement of 1 million people, called on the Council to be guided by international law, with no exception or exceptionalism.
On 18 October, in the aftermath of an attack on Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip that killed hundreds of people, including civilians and health-care workers, the Council, due to a veto cast by the United States, failed to adopt a resolution put forth by Brazil’s delegation that would have called for humanitarian pauses to allow full, safe and unhindered access for United Nations agencies. However, the text garnered the support of 12 Council members, including two permanent members (China, France), with two other permanent members (United Kingdom, Russian Federation) abstaining. Brazil’s representative, voicing regret that the Council was yet again unable to adopt a resolution on the conflict, stressed that hundreds of thousands of civilians in Gaza, having waited for far too long to no avail, could not wait any longer. Meanwhile, the United States’ delegate, pointing to President Joseph R. Biden’s trip to the region, said that the Council needed to let her country’s diplomacy “play out”.
Meeting a second time on 18 October, the Council heard from Mr. Wennesland, who expressed fear that the world was at the brink of a dangerous abyss that could change the trajectory of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, if not the entire Middle East. Condemning the massacre by Hamas on 7 October and calling for efforts to end the ongoing hostilities, he warned that the risk of the conflict’s expansion was very real and extremely dangerous. Highlighting his diplomatic engagements with leaders in Egypt to facilitate humanitarian assistance through Rafah crossing, he stressed the need for a long-term political solution as the only way to end the violence and reiterated that “perpetual management of conflict without addressing underlying issues” was not sustainable. The Council also heard from Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, who voiced horror at the attack on Al Ahli Arab Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip and echoed calls for a fact-based inquiry on the incident. In the 11 days since 7 October, more than 3,000 people in Gaza had been killed, including 15 UNRWA staff and Red Cross and Red Crescent personnel, while 1 million people had fled their homes. Essential supplies, including fuel, food, water and medical items were running low, he said, calling for safe humanitarian access and a ceasefire to ease “epic human suffering”.
During a day-long ministerial debate on 24 October, Secretary-General Guterres called for an immediate ceasefire, for humanitarian aid without restrictions, for civilians and hospitals to be protected, and for the inviolability of UN facilities sheltering more than 600,000 Palestinians to be respected. “Even war has rules,” he declared, adding that no party to an armed conflict was above international humanitarian law. Mr. Wennesland reported that the Israeli’s ensuing air assault in the Strip had killed 5,000 Palestinians, including over 1,100 women, 2,000 children as well as journalists, medical workers and first responders; over 1 million Palestinians had been displaced. Lynn Hastings, Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, cited figures that at least 42 per cent of all housing units in the Strip had been destroyed or damaged. As well, hospitals were on the brink of collapse, with doctors operating without anaesthesia, while 16 health workers had been killed on duty. She called on Israel to bring back water and electricity supplies, to work with her team to bring fuel into Gaza and for the opening of crossings for the movement of goods and people.
The following day, on 25 October, the Council met again to address the war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza, failing to adopt two competing draft resolutions. The first, from the United States, which would have condemned the terrorist attacks by Hamas on 7 October, called for the release of hostages, reaffirmed the rights of States to self-defence and called for humanitarian pauses, was defeated by a vote of 10 in favour to 3 against (China, Russian Federation, United Arab Emirates), with 2 abstentions (Brazil, Mozambique). The second, by the Russian Federation, which would have called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, condemned all violence and hostilities against civilians, condemned Hamas’ 7 October attacks and the taking of civilian hostages, and urged the rescission of the order for civilians and UN staff to evacuate all northern Gaza and relocate to the south, was also defeated by a vote of 4 in favour (China, Gabon, Russian Federation, United Arab Emirates) and 2 against (United Kingdom, United States), with 9 abstentions (Albania, Brazil, Ecuador, France, Ghana, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, Switzerland).
On 30 October, the Council was briefed by Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, who described the Israel Defense Forces’ bombardment of the Strip “shocking” and the unfolding human tragedy “unbearable”. Pointing out that nearly 3,200 children had been killed in Gaza in just three weeks, he warned: “An entire population is being dehumanized.” Catherine Russell, Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), reported that more than 420 children were being killed or injured in Gaza each day — “a number which should shake each of us to our core”. Lisa Doughten, Director of the Humanitarian Financing and Resource Mobilization Division, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, speaking on behalf of Mr. Griffiths, voiced concern about allegations of military installations close to hospitals and Israel’s request that hospitals be evacuated. However, she pointed out: “There is nowhere safe for patients to go, and for those on life support and babies in incubators, moving would almost certainly be a death sentence.”
As bombardments intensified in northern Gaza and Israeli ground forces reportedly encircled four hospitals, including Al-Shifa hospital, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) on 10 November told the Council that the situation in hospitals in Gaza was “impossible to describe”, with corridors crammed with the injured, the sick and the dying, morgues overflowing and surgical procedures conducted without anaesthesia. Since 7 October, WHO verified more than 250 attacks on health-care facilities in Gaza and the West Bank, in addition to 25 attacks on similar sites in Israel. The Council also heard from Marwan Jilani, Director General of the Palestine Red Crescent Society, who, citing attacks on four hospitals in Gaza over the previous 24 hours, said they were being deliberately targeted in a desperate attempt to force the civilian population out. “Displaced people at the hospital are getting shot at, as we speak,” he stressed.
On 15 November, the Council adopted resolution 2712 (2023) by a vote of 12 in favour to none against, with 3 abstentions (Russian Federation, United Kingdom, United States), by which it called for urgent and extended humanitarian pauses and corridors through the Gaza Strip to facilitate the provision of essential goods and services. On the same day, the Israel Defense Forces stormed Al-Shifa hospital, in search of what it said were tunnels used by Hamas beneath the complex. It withdrew nine days later, stating that it had destroyed them.
Less than a week later, on 22 November, the Council heard from several senior UN officials who described the disastrous impact of the ongoing war in Gaza on women and children. Sima Sami Bahous, Executive Director of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) pointed out that 67 per cent of the more than 14,000 people killed in Gaza since 7 October were women and children. Describing the plight of pregnant women and mothers, she said: “Women in Gaza have told us that they pray for peace, but that if peace does not come, they pray for a quick death, in their sleep, with their children in their arms.” Meanwhile, Ms. Russell called for an urgent humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, stating that pauses were not enough for children to survive. The Council also heard from Natalia Kanem, Executive Director of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), who reported that 5,500 pregnant women were expected to give birth in December in Gaza amidst destruction and fear, as well as multiple health risks, due to overcrowded conditions and insufficient clean water and sanitation.
The Council held a ministerial-level meeting on 29 November that coincided with the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Briefing the 15-nation organ, Secretary-General Guterres stated: “In a matter of weeks, a far greater number of children have been killed by Israeli military operations in Gaza than the total number of children killed during any year, by any party to a conflict, since I have been Secretary-General.” Recalling resolution 2712 (2023), and its demand about international law obligations regarding the protection of civilians, especially children, he underscored the importance of a true humanitarian ceasefire, as well as the two-State solution. Mr. Wennesland welcomed the agreement to pause the fighting and secure the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, while emphasizing the need for a political and security framework to end the fighting between Israel and Hamas. He also emphasized the need to stabilize the situation in occupied West Bank, where intensified settler violence was inflaming tensions displacing more Palestinians, warning: “The situation is boiling and getting worse rapidly.”
The Council met again on 8 December, following Secretary-General Guterres’ engagement of Article 99 in Chapter XV of the Charter — the first time he used this measure since taking office in 2017 — to “bring to attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion, may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security”. He informed the Council that the humanitarian support system in Gaza was at a high risk of total collapse. “We are at a breaking point [and] the situation is simply becoming untenable,” he stressed. Citing information from the World Food Programme (WFP) that Gazans were at serious risk of starvation, he underscored that the international community must do everything it could to end their ordeal. He urged members of the Security Council to exert pressure to avert a humanitarian catastrophe" and reiterated his call for "an urgent humanitarian ceasefire".
Meeting again on 8 December, the Council — due to a veto cast by the United States, a permanent member — failed to adopt a text put forth by the United Arab Emirates, which would have demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, as well as ensuring humanitarian access. The text received the support of 13 Council members, including 3 permanent members — China, France and the Russian Federation — with another permanent member, the United Kingdom, abstaining.
Meeting on 22 December, following several days’ deliberations, deferrals and diplomatic engagements, the Council adopted resolution 2720 (2023) by a recorded vote of 13 in favour to none against, with 2 abstentions (United States, Russian Federation), by which it requested the Secretary-General to appoint a Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for the Gaza Strip as it demanded the parties to the conflict to allow, facilitate and enable the immediate, safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale to Palestinian civilians throughout that territory. By other terms, it determined that the Coordinator would be responsible for facilitating, coordinating, monitoring and verifying, in Gaza, the humanitarian nature of all humanitarian relief consignments provided through States which are not parties to the conflict. Ahead of the vote, members failed to adopt an amendment put forth by the Russian Federation, owing to a veto cast by the United States. The vote was 10 in favour (Brazil, China, Ecuador, France, Gabon, Ghana, Malta, Mozambique, Russian Federation, United Arab Emirates) to 1 against (United States), with 4 abstentions (Albania, Japan, Switzerland, United Kingdom). Had it been adopted, the text would have had the Council call for an urgent suspension of hostilities to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access, and for urgent steps towards a sustainable cessation of hostilities.
The Council reconvened on 29 December, with Mr. Khiari reporting that, since 7 October, tensions in the West Bank between Israeli security forces and Palestinians were escalating, resulting in 304 Palestinians fatalities, including 79 children, and 4 Israeli fatalities. Israel was continuing its intense ground operations in Gaza, while Hamas was continuing to fire rockets from Gaza into Israel. Settler violence remained a grave concern as well. “Civilians from both sides — particularly the Gaza Strip — continue to bear the brunt of this conflict,” he said. Describing a slew of threats to regional stability, including strikes in Lebanon and Israel, he warned of a “high risk of regional spillover of the conflict”, given the myriad actors involved. The Council also heard from Marwan Muasher, Vice President for Studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former Deputy Prime Minister of Jordan, who outlined an eight-point political plan to end the occupation; and from Itay Epshtain, Special Advisor and Senior Humanitarian Law and Policy Consultant at the Norwegian Refugee Council, who, noting that all parties showed a reckless disregard for the peremptory norms of international law, stressed: “Peace is the only viable solution for civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel.”
Syria
Meetings: 5 January, 9 January, 25 January, 7 February, 28 February, 6 March, 23 March, 27 April, 8 May, 30 May, 29 June, 29 June, 11 July, 11 July, 24 July, 8 August, 23 August, 7 September, 27 September, 30 October, 28 November, 21 December, 21 December, 22 December.
Resolutions: 2672, 2689, 2718. Not adopted: 507. Vetoed: 506.
The Syrian civil war entered its twelfth year in 2023, with more than half the population displaced and a grim humanitarian, political and economic crisis continuing. The topic of the country remained a point of contention for Council members, with consensus elusive, particularly on the issue of access of humanitarian aid to the north-west bordering Türkiye, despite soaring needs following a series of earthquakes that laid waste to the region in early February. Nonetheless, monthly meetings continued to be held, addressing the political and humanitarian situation in Syria, as well as the use of chemical weapons.
On 5 January, Adedeji Ebo, Director and Deputy to the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, briefed the Council on the implementation of resolution 2118 (2013), through which the 15-nation organ first mandated the destruction Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles and production capabilities. As in past briefings, he restated that long-standing gaps, inconsistencies and discrepancies remained unresolved, due to which Syria’s declaration could not be considered accurate and complete in accordance with the Chemical Weapons Convention.
Meeting on 9 January, the Council unanimously adopted resolution 2672 (2023), extending authorization of the Bab al-Hawa crossing point on Syria’s border with Türkiye to enable the uninterrupted delivery of aid into north-west Syria for six months, until 10 July. Council members voiced varying views on the extension’s duration, with the representatives of the United Kingdom, United States and Japan urging the Council to extend the cross-border mechanism in 12-month increments, while China and the Russian Federation’s representatives pointed to the impact of unilateral coercive measures on humanitarian assistance in Syria, a view echoed by Syria’s representative.
During the year’s first monthly briefing on the political and humanitarian situations, on 25 January, Geir O. Pedersen, Special Envoy for Syria, told the Council that more than a decade of destruction, war and conflict, corruption and mismanagement had resulted in “a twin humanitarian and economic crisis of epic proportions”, with half the pre-war population displaced — the largest displacement crisis in the world. Ghada Eltahir Mudawi, Deputy Director of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, urged more donor support for the 2022 Humanitarian Response Plan for the country, which was underfunded at 47.2 per cent, given that 15.3 million people — nearly 70 per cent of the population — needed humanitarian assistance.
Izumi Nakamitsu, High Representative for Disarmament Affairs told the Council on 7 February: “There is an urgent need to not only identify, but to hold accountable, all those who would dare to use chemical weapons in violation of international law.” Supporting that stance, Fernando Arias, Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) — the global body tasked with overseeing the elimination of chemical — reported that there were reasonable grounds to believe that, on 7 April 2018, a Syrian air force helicopter dropped two cylinders in Douma, a civilian-populated area outside Damascus, releasing highly concentrated chlorine gas that killed 43 individuals. “The report is now in your hands,” he said. Santiago Oñate-Laborde, Coordinator of the OPCW Investigation and Identification Team, added that, based on chemical and analytical data, it was possible to rule out the hypothesis that the incident in Douma was staged, as proposed by Syria and the Russian Federation.
Mr. Pedersen gave his monthly briefing to the Council on 28 February, in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake doublet that struck the Türkiye-Syria border earlier in the month, killing 50,000 people, including 6,000 people in Syria, mostly in the north-west. Underscoring the need to depoliticize the emergency humanitarian response, he stressed: “This means access. This is not the time to play politics with crossings across borders or front lines.” Mr. Griffiths of the Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, echoed the call for unimpeded humanitarian aid access, stressing that the United Nations Syria Flash Appeal needed $397.6 million to meet critical needs over the following three months.
Ms. Nakamitsu briefed members again on 6 March, noting that efforts by the OPCW Declaration Assessment Team to clarify outstanding issues regarding Syria’s initial and subsequent declarations had failed to progress. Due to the resultant unresolved gaps, inconsistencies and discrepancies, the OPCW Technical Secretariat assessed that the declaration submitted by Syria still could not be considered accurate and complete in accordance with the Chemical Weapons Convention.
On 23 March, Mr. Pedersen informed the Council that rising hostilities were marking the end of the moment where, following the February earthquakes, “the unimaginable became real” and parties on either side of the front lines refrained from hostilities. Avoiding a broader escalation was crucial in order to bolster donors’ confidence considering supporting rehabilitation and recovery efforts. Tareq Talahma, Acting Director of the Operations and Advocacy Division of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, outlined the United Nations’ post-earthquake response, including the provision of food and cash transfers to 2.2 million people, as well as water and sanitation services to 380,000 people. However, the 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan for Syria was only 6 per cent funded, although it was the largest in the world.
Returning on 27 April, Mr. Pedersen described a “potentially important juncture” in efforts to move forward a political process, involving engagements with the Astana players — Iran, Russian Federation and Türkiye — and the Syrian Government. Also noting new engagements between Arab countries and the Syrian Government, he cautioned that excluding stakeholders could block the process. Ms. Doughten of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, stated that over 3 million people in Syria have received hot meals and ready-to-eat rations from the United Nations and its humanitarian partners, following the earthquakes. Yet, even before the earthquake, 15.3 million people — more than half the population — required humanitarian assistance and protection support, she said, warning: “This number, I fear, only stands to grow.”
Ms. Nakamitsu, in her monthly briefing on 8 May, stressed the need for full cooperation by Damascus, as efforts of the OPCW Technical Secretariat to organize the next round of consultations with the Syrian Government continued to be unsuccessful. Nonetheless, the Technical Secretariat proposed to deploy a few members of its Declaration Assessment Team to conduct limited in-country activities in January and April. On 30 May, Mr. Pedersen outlined his expansion of diplomatic efforts with the Syrian Government to bring about a political solution and reconvene the Constitutional Committee. “It is vital that the recent diplomatic moves are matched with real action,” he stressed. On the humanitarian front, Ms. Mudawi echoed the Secretary-General’s recent call for a 12-month extension of the Council’s authorization of the cross-border mechanism, observing that most Syrians continued to face challenges in meeting basic food, health, water and shelter needs.
On 29 June, briefing the Council ahead of the expiry of resolution 2672 (2023), which extended the cross-border authorization for cross-border aid delivery into Syria for six months, Najat Rochdi, Deputy Special Envoy for Syria, urged that humanitarian action be depoliticized and called for access via all modalities, including cross-line and cross-border, into the country. Mr. Griffiths, addressing the 15-nation organ following a trip to Damascus, also stressed the need to extend the cross-border authorization by 12 months to meet desperate needs that cross-line deliveries could not match. Almost 90 per cent of the Syrian population lived below the poverty line, while this year’s Humanitarian Response Plan for the country, the largest in the world at $5.4 billion, was less than 12 per cent funded, he added.
On 11 July, the Council failed to reach consensus on two draft resolutions that would have reauthorized the cross-border mechanism for the delivery of humanitarian aid into Syria. The first, put forth by Brazil and Switzerland, which would have extended the use of the Bab al-Hawa crossing for another nine months, was defeated by a veto cast by the Russian Federation. The Russian Federation’s competing text, which would have enabled a six-month extension of the authorization, was defeated by a vote of 3 against (France, United Kingdom, United States) to 2 in favour (China, Russian Federation), with 10 abstentions (Albania, Brazil, Ecuador, Gabon, Ghana, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates).
In their second meeting on 11 July, the Council heard from Mr. Ebo, who once again reported that all efforts by OPCW to organize the next round of consultations with Syria continued to be unsuccessful. Underscoring the urgent need for full cooperation by Damascus, he reiterated that, due to identified gaps, inconsistencies and discrepancies that remained unresolved, the declaration submitted by Syria still could not be considered accurate and complete in accordance with the Chemical Weapons Convention.
On 24 July, Mr. Pedersen, citing the Secretary-General’s disappointment over the Council’s lack of agreement over its authorization of cross-border relief operations, added: “How are [the Syrians] meant to be encouraged to overcome their own deep differences, if consensus on humanitarian basics among international parties is elusive?” Further, months of diplomacy had not created real advances in the political process, including disputes over the venue of the reconvening of the Constitutional Committee which prevented the meeting. Ramesh Rajasingham, Director of Coordination of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, expressing hope that the use of Bab al-Salam and Al-Ra’ee crossings will be extended beyond their expiration on 13 August, stressed that the future of cross-border assistance should not be a political decision, but a humanitarian one.
Mr. Ebo returned to the Council on 8 August, noting that OPCW efforts continued to be unsuccessful and that the declaration submitted by that country still could not be considered accurate and complete, pending information related to outstanding issues, including those pertaining to the unauthorized movement of two cylinders related to the chemical weapon incident in Douma on 7 April 2018. Mr. Pedersen warned the Council on 23 August that a bad economic situation in Syria has gotten even worse, with the Syrian pound losing over 80 per cent of its value in three months and prices for essential goods and commodities spiralling out of control. “Syria cannot fix its economy while it is in a state of conflict,” he said, underscoring the need for progress on a political process in line with resolution 2254 (2015), which has been “in a deep freeze” for over a year.
Ms. Nakamitsu briefed Council members again on 7 September, stating that, despite Syria’s agreement to address declaration-related issues, the OPCW Technical Secretariat had yet to receive any declarations or other documents requested. The Technical Secretariat assessed that Syria’s declaration still could not be considered accurate and complete in accordance with the Chemical Weapons Convention, she repeated, urging Council members to unite on the issue and to demonstrate that impunity in the use of chemical weapons will not be tolerated.
On 27 September, Mr. Pedersen briefed the Council on the heels of an agreement reached with the Syrian Government, which enabled the resumption of humanitarian operations through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing in north-west Syria for six months. He called for concrete measures to relaunch a Syrian-led and -owned political process in line with resolution 2254 (2015). Edem Wosornu, Director of Operations and Advocacy, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, reported that humanitarian shipments into north-west Syria through the Bab al-Hawa border were the first such deliveries since 10 July, when Security Council resolution 2672 (2023) lapsed. That crossing remained key, as it contributed to better functioning schools, health facilities and drinking-water access. However, the 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan for Syria was less than 30 per cent funded, she noted.
The Council heard from Mr. Pedersen again on 30 October, who warned of spill-over from the violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. “Today, I am sounding an alarm that the situation is now at its most dangerous for a long time,” he stated. Even before these regional developments, Syria was already seen the worst surge in violence in more than three years, leaving civilians killed, maimed and displaced in higher numbers than at any point since 2020, he said, urging immediate de-escalation and a focus on a credible political process. Ms. Wosornu also addressed Council members, underscoring that 15 million Syrians needed critical humanitarian and protection support, amid a deepening humanitarian emergency and a serious escalation in hostilities in northern Syria.
Ms. Rochdi briefed the Council on 28 November amid a continuing escalation of violence, including Israeli air strikes in Syria, rocket fire over the Syrian Golan towards Israel, attacks on United States forces, and retaliation and ongoing clashes between pro-Government and opposition entities, among others. “We need more than just good intentions — we need sustained de-escalation, operationalized through robust channels between all stakeholders,” she stressed, warning that “to continue such violence is to play with fire”. On the humanitarian front, Ms. Wosornu emphasized the urgent need for more funding, reporting that although an estimated 5.7 million people across Syria needed critical assistance to get through winter, the Humanitarian Response Plan for the country was only 33 per cent funded.
On 21 December, Mr. Pedersen told the Council that 2023 had been another tragic year for Syrian civilians, who were being killed, injured, displaced, detained and abducted in alarming numbers, as well as facing the danger of regional spill-over, due to developments in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Urging “sustained de-escalation in and on Syria towards a nationwide ceasefire”, he underscored the need in 2024 to refocus on the political process called eight years ago in resolution 2254 (2015). The Council also heard from Ms. Doughten, who pointed out that the 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan for Syria was only 33 per cent funded, added: “This lack of resources is severely constraining our ability to provide critical life-saving assistance to millions of people.” Recalling that the Government’s agreement for the UN to use the Bab al-Hawa crossing for humanitarian aid delivery runs until 13 January 2024, she urged the scaling up of aid deliveries through all modalities.
At 2023’s final monthly briefing addressing the Syrian chemical weapons file on 22 December, Mr. Ebo told the Council that, after a gap of more than two and a half years, the twenty-fifth round of consultations between the Declaration Assessment Team of OPCW and the Syrian National Authority took place from 30 October to 5 November, adding that he hoped this “renewed spirit of cooperation” could help resolve all outstanding issues regarding the initial and subsequent declarations submitted by Syria. Considering those unresolved identified gaps, inconsistencies and discrepancies, however, the Technical Secretariat assessed that the declaration submitted by Syria still could not be considered accurate and complete in accordance with the Chemical Weapons Convention, he said.
Addressing the specific matter of the Golan, the Council adopted resolution 2689 (2023) on 29 June, extending the mandate of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Golan for six months, until 31 December, while requesting the Secretary-General to ensure that it has the required capacity and resources to fulfil its mandate in a safe manner. On 21 December, members unanimously adopted resolution 2718 (2023), extending the mandate of the Force for another six months until 30 June 2024. By the text, it also stressed that Israel and Syria are obliged to “scrupulously and fully respect” the terms of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement.
Yemen (10)
Meetings: 16 January, 15 February, 15 March, 17 April, 17 May, 10 July, 10 July, 16 August, 8 November, 14 November.
Resolutions: 2675, 2691, 2707.
Press Statements: SC/15251 (4 April), SC/15430 (29 September), SC/15513 (4 December).
Continued outbreaks of violence highlighted the need for a formal ceasefire in a country where millions needed humanitarian assistance, the Council heard on numerous occasions. While humanitarian agencies too often lacked the resources needed to deliver help, 2023 also saw moments of hope, with a 2 million drop in the number of people going hungry, the release of almost 900 conflict-related detainees and the removal of oil from the FSO Safer tanker, averting an ecological catastrophe.
The Council heard from Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy for Yemen, on 16 January that, despite the stable situation, military activity around front lines — including along the Saudi-Yemeni border — was recorded. He reported on continued contact with the parties and regional stakeholders, focusing on military de-escalation, measures to prevent economic deterioration and mitigation of the impact of the conflict on civilians. Mr. Griffiths of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs sounded the alarm that 2023 will be another extremely difficult year for Yemenis, estimating that 21.6 million people across the country will need humanitarian assistance in an increasingly challenging operating environment for aid agencies. “With every day that passes without a solution, this issue is becoming more acute and more urgent,” he said.
On 15 February, the 15-nation organ renewed for nine months a travel ban and asset freeze imposed on specific individuals and entities in Yemen, unanimously adopting resolution 2675 (2023). By further terms, it extended until 15 December the mandate of the Panel of Experts, which assists the Yemen Sanctions Committee. The Council also requested the Secretary-General to take steps to expeditiously re-establish the Panel, in consultation with the Sanctions Committee.
Mr. Grundberg, on 15 March, informed the Council that elements of the April 2022 truce were being carried out as intense diplomatic efforts to end the conflict continued at various levels, including the recent agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran to resume diplomatic ties. Joyce Msuya, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, reported on another improvement — a 2 million drop in the number of people going hungry in Yemen. Yet, humanitarian agencies too often lack the resources needed to deliver help and economic problems were pushing more people into destitution. Albana Dautllari (Albania), speaking in her country’s capacity as Chair of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to its resolution 2140 (2014), also informed the Council on the Committee’s activities during the reporting period.
Briefing the Council again on 17 April, Mr. Grundberg said that the country was experiencing the longest period of relative calm yet, with food, fuel and other commercial ships flowing into Hudaydah. Noting the recent agreement under the auspices of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to release almost 900 conflict-related detainees from all sides, he warned that “escalation can quickly reverse hard-won gains” and voiced concern over recent military activity in Marib, Shabwa and Taïz. Ms. Mudawi of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs commended the continued easing of import restrictions in recent weeks as well as a major milestone regarding the FSO Safer oil tanker, with a replacement vessel set sail for Yemen on 6 April.
On 17 May, Mr. Grundberg told the Council that all sides were demonstrating efforts towards a deal on humanitarian and economic measures, a permanent ceasefire and the resumption of a Yemeni-led political process. While the truce continued, continuing reports of violence across the front lines highlighted the need for a formal ceasefire. Ms. Wosornu of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that while aid agencies have been providing humanitarian assistance to more than 11 million people each month, efforts have been limited by chronic access impediments and the ongoing Mahram restrictions on Yemeni female aid workers.
On 10 July, the Council, unanimously adopting resolution 2691 (2023), decided to extend for one year the mandate of the United Nations Mission to Support the Hudaydah Agreement (UNMHA). Mr. Grundberg welcomed the first commercial flights in seven years between Sana’a and Saudi Arabia. Ms. Msuya, detailing work on the ground, said some activities were forced to scale back due to funding of the 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan at just 29 per cent. David Gressly, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Yemen, commended Yemeni authorities and a broad coalition to the Organization’s operation preventing oil spill from the decaying SFO Safer tanker, noting, however, that $25 million is still needed to repay the money borrowed from the Central Emergency Relief Fund.
On 16 August, Mr. Grundberg, while expressing relief at the release of five kidnapped UN colleagues, condemned the murder of World Food Programme (WFP) staff member Moayad Hameidi in Taïz Governorate. He also noted that the oil from the FSO Safer tanker was removed to a new vessel. Welcoming Saudi Arabia’s pledge of $1.2 billion, he nevertheless underscored that there would be no lasting improvement until the parties agree on sustainable solutions. Ms. Wosornu, noting that WFP announced the suspension of its malnutrition prevention activities across Yemen, warned there would be much less humanitarian funding available in 2024.
On 8 November, Ferit Hoxha (Albania), speaking in his country’s capacity as Chair of the 2140 Committee, briefed the Council on the Committee’s informal consultations, adding that, during the reporting period, it did not receive any listing or delisting requests, nor any exemption requests. On 14 November, the Council, unanimously adopting resolution 2707 (2023), again renewed the travel ban and assets freeze imposed on specific individuals and entities in Yemen, as well as the mandate of the Panel of Experts, both for 12 months.
The Council issued three press statements on the situation in Yemen in 2023. On 4 April, expressing strong support for efforts to secure a comprehensive ceasefire and inclusive Yemeni-Yemeni political talks under the auspices of the United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen, welcoming the recent agreement between the Government of Yemen and the Houthis in Geneva.
On 29 September, the Council strongly condemned the drone attack, attributed to the Houthis, on members of the armed forces of Bahrain serving as part of the Arab Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen. On 4 December, it condemned recent Houthi attacks against a commercial vessel in the Red Sea and called for the immediate release of the vessel MV Galaxy Leader and its crew.
Iraq
Meetings: 2 February, 18 May, 30 May, 7 June, 15 September, 10 October, 4 December.
Gains in political stability in 2022, including the establishment of Iraq’s new Government, and a recently adopted federal budget, signalled the promise of tangible improvements in Iraqis’ daily lives. In efforts to hold Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), also known as Da’esh, accountable for their crimes in the country, the Council decided to renew until 17 September 2024 only the mandate of the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh/Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (UNITAD).
On 2 February, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), told the Council that Iraq’s new Government is tackling the myriad challenges, including high unemployment and the investigation of corruption allegations. Regarding missing Kuwaiti and third-country nationals and missing Kuwaiti property, she welcomed the Government’s steps to encourage more witnesses to come forward.
Briefing the Council on 18 May, Ms. Hennis-Plasschaert reported that all coalition parties have signed off on the Government programme, but compromise was needed to balance differing interests. Detailing events regarding the Kurdistan region, she called for progress implementing the Sinjar Agreement. Further, bold domestic actions and close regional cooperation were crucial regarding the climate emergency and water scarcity, considering that 90 per cent of the country’s rivers were polluted and 7 million Iraqis had reduced access to water.
On 30 May, the Council, unanimously adopting resolution 2682 (2023), extended the mandate of UNAMI until 31 May 2024. The Council requested that UNAMI prioritize support and assistance to the Government advancing inclusive, political dialogue and national and community-level reconciliation, with women’s full, equal and meaningful participation. The Mission was also requested to assist the Government in strengthening electoral preparation for free and fair elections and in developing processes to resolve disputed internal boundaries, among others.
Briefing the Council on 7 June, Christian Ritscher, Special Adviser and Head of UNITAD, reported that, through digitizing physical evidence, investigative progress had been made into crimes committed by Da’esh. “There is no shortage of evidence on [Da’esh]’s crimes in Iraq”, as that group was a large-scale bureaucracy that maintained a State-like administrative system, he added. The Investigative Team was working to ensure this evidence was admissible before any competent court in Iraq or in other States where prosecutions of Da’esh members for international crimes were taking place.
The Security Council, unanimously adopting resolution 2697 (2023) on 15 September, took note of Iraq's request for a non-extendable one-year extension of the mandate of UNITAD and decided to extend their mandate until 17 September 2024 only. It also took note of the Government’s request for the Investigative Team to provide evidence it has to Baghdad within the next year. The Council requested the Special Adviser to continue to submit and present reports on the Investigative Team’s activities every 180 days and to develop, by 15 March 2024, in consultation with the Government, a road map for the completion of the Team’s mandate.
On 10 October, Ms. Hennis-Plasschaert told the Council: “To cut a long story short, with last year’s gains in political stability and an ambitious federal budget in hand, Iraq is well-positioned to seize the many opportunities in front of it.” She called for progress on enabling people to return to their areas of origin, including Jurf al-Sakhr and Sinjar. On the Kurdistan parliamentary elections, most recently postponed to February 2024, she said: “With the current administration in a caretaker capacity, the region’s democratic process must prevail. There is so much at stake.”
On 4 December, Mr. Ritscher, reporting on adjusted priorities of concluding the Team’s mandate, said that a case assessment report on Da’esh’s development and use of chemical weapons was completed and an assessment detailing its crimes of sexual violence during its reign was published. The Team worked with the Iraqi judiciary on the management of evidence collected over the last five years and on joint case files of alleged Da’esh perpetrators in third States, establishing a legal basis domestically to investigate and prosecute international crimes. However, by September 2024, the Team would not be able to deliver final outputs on all inquiry lines it has initiated. A premature and abrupt ending of UNITAD would mean a loss for all those concerned, he warned, urging the Government and the Council to consider the end state of the Team’s mandate more than the end date.
Lebanon
Meetings: 31 August.
Resolutions: 2695.
The Council convened one meeting on the situation in Lebanon, on 31 August, during which it adopted resolution 2695 (2023) by a vote of 13 in favour to none against, with 2 abstentions (China, Russian Federation), to extend the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for a period 12 months, until 31 August 2024. By the text, the Council reiterated its call on the Lebanese Government to present a plan to increase its naval capabilities, with the goal of decreasing UNIFIL’s Maritime Taskforce and transitioning its responsibilities to the Lebanese Armed Forces. The Council also urged all parties to make tangible progress towards a permanent ceasefire and a long-term solution and for Israel to expedite the withdrawal of its army from northern Ghajar and the adjacent area north of the Blue Line without further delay in coordination with UNIFIL.
Iran
Press Statements: SC/15386 (16 August).
The Council issued one press statement on Iran, on 16 August, condemning in the strongest terms a terrorist attack at Shah-e-Cheragh shrine in Shiraz, Iran, on 13 August by Da’esh, which left two Iranians dead.
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