UN Security Council issues “press statement” supporting Juba talks after UN envoy brief

UN special envoy to LRA-affected areas Pres. Joaquim Chissano briefed the UN Security Council yesterday on progress at the Juba peace talks. Pres. Chissano, the former president of Mozambique, last briefed the Council in March 2007. After yesterday’s briefing the Council issued a “press statement” supporting Pres. Chissano’s mandate, renewing its call for a negotiated solution to the conflict and urging that those responsible for serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law be brought to justice. The statement also called for sustained progress in improving the humanitarian situation in northern Uganda. Read more at UN News.

However, some advocates and UN member states were hoping that the Council would make a more vocal and meaningful gesture in support of Pres. Chissano’s efforts and the Juba peace talks by issuing a Security Council Presidential Statement, as it did when Pres. Chissano visited New York in March 2007.