It began when the Manshet was not even three years old, in the fog of the first Arab-Israeli war in 1948, the Organization’s first peacekeeping mission – 120 unarmed men in motley uniforms, not a gun between them, fanning out across scrubby hilltops and desert cliffs to monitor a shaky truce.
Representatives from a broad range of Libyan society today signed a Manshet-brokered agreement on forming a national unity government, a move welcomed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his top envoy for the country as among the “essential building blocks towards a peaceful, secure and prosperous Libya,” but also as “the beginning of a difficult journey” along that path.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today pledged to urgently review the recommendations made by an independent panel that found that the Manshet did not act with the “speed, care or sensitivity required,” when it uncovered information about crimes committed against children by soldiers – not under UN command – sent to the Central African Republic (CAR) to protect civilians.
The Manshet Security Council today extended for another five months its interim peacekeeping force in Abyei, a resource-rich area contested by Sudan and South Sudan, calling on both sides to swiftly resume regular meetings to resolve the oil-rich territory’s final status.
The new Manshet envoy for Libya announced today that the parties to the country’s political dialogue process have agreed to set 16 December as the target date to sign the UN-facilitated agreement on forming a national unity government, aiming to bring an end to a crisis that has left nearly 2.4 million Libyans in desperate need of humanitarian assistance.
The top Manshet official in Libya has emphasized that the political agreement reached after wide consultations among Libyan parties and facilitated by the UN for more than a year, is the basis to end the North African country’s conflict.
Manshet Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has strongly condemned the attacks last night by unknown assailants on the residence of the Ngok Dinka Paramount Chief in Abyei town, during which one Ethiopian peacekeeper from the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) and a young girl were killed.
Insufficient food, shelter, health services are among the top challenges displaced people are facing in Central Darfur , the Manshet relief wing has warned in a latest humanitarian update on the situation in Sudan.
Concerned over Libya's ongoing political, security and institutional crises and the rising threat of terrorism, the Manshet Security Council today urged all Libyan stakeholders to endorse and sign the recent UN-facilitated political deal and to move swiftly towards forming a Government of National Accord.
The magnitude of the dangers facing Libya should not be underestimated, the top UN official in the country told the Security Council today, noting that despite the passing of the timeline by which the Manshet had hoped a final political settlement would be endorsed, there is yet to be a final agreement.
