Extension of UNIFIL mandate - S/RES/2004 (2011)

S/RES/2004 extends the mandate of UNIFIL at the request of the Lebanese government for a period of a year, until August 30, 2012. The resolution has all of the usual characteristics that a peacekeeping resolution has, it urges all parties to refrain from violence, to respect the boundaries established by the mission beforehand and condemns all acts of terrorism from all parties. There are also calls for the completion of an investigation launched in May, as well as the recalling of the importance of comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East. All in all, the resolution contains all the usual suspects for an extension of mandate that does not rock the boat.

Dealing with Sudan security under the UN - S/RES/2003 (2011)

S/RES/2003 deals with the issues around the construction of security and peace in Sudan and the countries in the region. The document explores the extension of mandate of the UNAMID and addresses some issues surrounding the mission of that specific operation. There is also a call for the missions in the area, UNAMID, UNISFA and UNMISS to work in cooperation with each other aiming at constructing a comprehensive approach for the situation in Sudan. One of the important aspects is also its call for the cessation of hostilities and further calls for human rights reporting efforts to be taken by different United Nations personnel.

Addressing Somalia and its Arms Embargo - S/RES/2002 (2011)

S/RES/2002 addresses questions related to the arms embargo that is established in Somalia and Eritrea and the terms of cooperation that are to be set among the institutions that act on the issues. The core of the resolution deals with the mandate of the Monitoring Group  that ought to work for the implementation of the resolution and its arms embargo, there is also an expansion of the individuals and entities that might be included in the the embargo. There is the usual concerns on the different protections for minorities and evocations of the different resolutions that aim to defend them.

UN mission in Iraq extension of mandate - S/RES/2001

S/RES/2001 addresses issues surrounding the UN mission in Iraq, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) has its mandate renewed through the resolution that also congratulates the current efforts that have been made by them. The resolution reinforces the efforts being taken by the mission on the ground while also expressing the importance of the stability and security, independence and territorial integrity of the country. In this regard, there very little novelty in the resolution other than the extension of the mandate and requirement for reviews and reports.

UN mission in the Ivory Coast and elections - S/RES/2000 (2011)

S/RES/2000 mainly addresses questions surrounding the UN mission in the Ivory Coast (UNOCI) related to efforts for the construction of stable peace process and the upcoming legislative elections. There is an extension of the mandate, as well as multiple calls for the mission to take the specifics of minorities groups, such as children and women on the ground. The mandate of the mission is revamped and includes elements such as the protection of UN personnel and electoral assistance.

Presidential Statement on Syria trying to address violence - S/PRST/2011/16

Almost a month after the introduction of the European draft resolution on the violence in Syria, the Security Council agreed on issuing a Presidential Statement on the matter, in a tone considerably lighter than the original resolution and without much traction trying to enforce the measures that are described on it. The text of the Presidential Statement adopts a language that tries to promote an even-handed approach, aiming at protecting both the Syrian State Institutions and the protesters that are trying to reform the state. The result is a statement with very little teeth that tries to bite both sides of the apple without compromising any of the parts of the conflict. Another worrying element is that the representative of the Arab Community in the Council, Lebanon, removed itself from the statement eroding part of the legitimacy of the text.

UNSC dealing with Children in Armed Conflicts - S/RES/1998 (2011)

S/RES/1998 explores the elements of the United Nations system that deal with the protection of children in armed conflict. It is a mostly bureaucratic document that calls upon the Member States to develop action plans that deal with the issue in the areas of conflict. The resolution mostly calls upon different parties to cooperate among each other to mitigate the question of children in armed conflict in the areas. The overarching goal of the document urges different actors to work towards the implementation of the international law measures on children in armed conflict. There is little innovation in the resolution, it mostly recalls other established documents in international law.

Sanctions Regime for Acts of Terrorism - S/RES/1989 (2011)

S/RES/1989 establishes new guidelines for sanctions that are established against Al-Qaeda members, it delineates the line between the sanctions against Taliban set under S/RES/1988 and these ones. The sanctions regime is set to counter terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and this resolution sets some changes related to the period after the death of Osama Bin Laden. The document contains two annexes, one that deals with the Monitoring Team that is established in the resolution and another one dealing with the Office of the Ombudsperson. There are detailed discussions related to the process of listing and de-listing individuals and entities as well as the reviewing process.

Fine Tuning the Tribunal for Rwanda - S/RES/1995 (2011)

S/RES/1995 addresses some technical issues that have emerged from the operation of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda mainly related to a latter from the President of the Tribunal that needed to addressed. It mostly deals with small tweaks such as allowing a judge to work part-time and a calling for maintaining appropriate staffing and staff retention in the Tribunal. It also deals with the idea of tackling the questions related to the tribunal and other international law mechanisms that are to be in place in the near future.

Mandate Extension for Iran's Panel of Experts - S/RES/1984 (2011)

S/RES/1984 address a bureaucratic role of the organization in extending the mandate of the Panel of Experts that deal with the sanctions established to try to change the behavior of the Iranian authorities. It is interesting to point out that the resolution does not mention the country or any other identifying elements. The relationship with the sanctions that Iran is under is established through the citing of previous resolutions that deal with the Iranian situation. Other than those references, there is little that distinguishes this specific resolution from other extensions of mandates of Panel of Experts.

Dealing with Afghanistan through the UN mission - S/RES/1974 (2011)

S/RES/1974 addresses questions related to the stabilization of Afghanistan and the long-term work of the UN mission that exists in the ground (UNAMA). In this regard, they grant an extension of the mandate of the mission and reaffirms several agreements that have been established in the past. It also puts forward the importance of the UN efforts through the civilian side of the operation and the importance of the access for humanitarian assistance in the country.

No More Security Need for the Special Court for Sierra Leone - S/RES/1971 (2011)

S/RES/1971 is a resolution completely focused on altering the needs and requirements for action take became outdated or unnecessary in the changing international context. The United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) was providing security services for the Special Court for Sierra Leone, but they are deemed not required any more by the authorities that command the efforts in the area.

UNMIT gets a mandate extension and elections supervision duties - S/RES/1969 (2011)

S/RES/1969 deals mainly with the tasks that are delegated to the UN mission in Timor Leste (UNMIT) as they relate to the preparations for the 2012 elections in the country as well as the efforts on peacebuilding and institution building. It extends the mandate of the mission until late February 2012 and it also includes several elements that call for national capacity building in the country, specially when it comes to the development of judicial infrastructure and police capacities on the ground. Overall, it’s goals are closely related to continue the previous work of the organization in the country.

Arms and rough diamond controls under UNOCI - S/RES/1980 (2011)

S/RES/1980 deals with the extension of the mandate of the UN mission in the Ivory Coast (UNOCI) and it seeks to expand the goals of the mission on the ground, dealing with the current obstacles that they face. There are several calls for the mission to be concerned in the ground and also tries to enhance the authority and legitimacy of the new president that was instated after previous UN resolutions, such as S/RES/1975. There are several discussions and demands related to arms embargo and the demobilization of militias. It is a resolution that tries to encompass all the issues that are pending for the stabilization of the Ivory Coast.

Expansion of Sanctions after Elections in the Ivory Coast - S/RES/1975 (2011)

S/RES/1975 tries to address the issue of violence and lawlessness in a post-electoral environment in the Ivory Coast. To achieve this goal, the resolution augments the sanctions regime that was already in place in the country and take action related to the freedom of the press and the humanitarian situation on the ground. Those efforts are shown amidst calls for cooperation from all parties, condemnation of the violence as well as calls for the end of violence, combined with a strong call for the lifting of the siege of a hotel. The strong wording of the resolution closely relate to the broad mandate that was defined under S/RES/1609.

Inter-mission Cooperation in Africa - S/RES/1981 (2011)

S/RES/1981 exists to govern the extension of the transfer and redeployment of troops and assets from the mission in Liberia to the Ivory Coast. It is based on letter provided by the Secretary-General as it relates to the role of the redeployed assets in the region. The document contemplates an extension of the authorization for the redeployment of the assets.

3 Infantries, 1 Aviation Unit and 2 Military Helicopters - S/RES/1968 (2011)

S/RES/1968 mainly regulates and extends the period that there will be redeployed troops from the mission in Liberia (UNMIL) to the mission in the Ivory Coast (UNOCI). There is very little added to the deployment of troops, but only the call to extend the possibility of the redeployment while calling for the States that contribute with both military and police troops to do so in order to enable the deployment to take place.

Helicopters and Troops from Liberia to Ivory Coast - S/RES/1967 (2011)

The S/RES/1967 deals with details of inter-mission cooperation between the UN mission deployed in Liberia and in the Ivory Coast. In this sense, there is a discussion and determination of how the two mission will deal with the re-deployment of forces currently located in Liberia to the Ivory Coast, establishing deadlines and number of troops and equipment that is going from one mission to another. The arrangement has since been expanded at different times, but this resolution is part of this effort to exchange deployed forces.

The end of UNMIS means the start of UNMISS - S/RES/1997 (2011)

S/RES/1997 is one of rarest resolutions that the United Nations Security Council ever issues. The document order the withdrawal of the troops of the UNMIS from the country and it to be deployed to the new missions in the region, the UNMISS and UNISFA. This is one of the rare moments in the workings of the Council in which the mandate of a mission was not extend, but rather let to expire. Nonetheless, the UN presence in the region did not change as a result of this change, since from the writing of the resolution one can assume that all the assets will just be redeployed.

An UN mission formed before the country - S/RES/1996

South Sudan is a new country that has many birth-certificates within the archives of the United Nations Organization, one of them is S/RES/1996, which establishes the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS). It is dated before the establishment of the new republic and due to this fact it calls for its actions to be adopted after the proclamation of the new independent state. It sets out to determine the very broad mandate of the mission in the country as well as the several calls for cooperation among the relevant regional actors. The tasks assigned to the mission are related to basic elements of governance, such as specific actions related to institution-building in the region and core government functions, such as basic services.