Security Council – Work assessment under United States presidency (December 2010) – Letter from United States (excerpts)

Letter dated 23 August 2011 from the Chargé d’affaires a.i.
of the United States Mission to the United Nations addressed
to the President of the Security Council 

 I have the honour to transmit herewith a report on the work of the Security Council during the presidency of the United States of America in December 2010 (see annex). 

 The document was prepared under my responsibility, after consultation with the other members of the Security Council. 

 I should be grateful if you would have the present letter and its annex circulated as a document of the Security Council. 

(Signed) Rosemary DiCarlo
Chargé d’affaires a.i. 

Annex to the letter dated 23 August 2011 from the Chargé d’affaires a.i. of the United States Mission to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council 

   Assessment of the work of the Security Council during the presidency of the United States of America (December 2010) 

   Introduction 

 During the United States presidency of the Security Council, in December 2010, the Council held 32 meetings and 18 consultations of the whole. The Council also adopted 14 resolutions and 5 presidential statements. The Vice-President of the United States, Joseph Biden, presided over the high-level meeting on Iraq, on 15 December. 

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   Asia and Middle East 

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   The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question 

 On 14 December, the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Robert Serry, briefed the Council on the suspension of direct talks between the Israelis and Palestinians. He reiterated continued United Nations opposition to settlement activity. He said that an indisputable security partner had emerged in the Palestinian security forces and reported that the number of Israeli troops in the West Bank was at its lowest level since 2005. The Special Coordinator said that the Quartet envoys, at their meeting on 10 December, had discussed the need to further enable the State-building efforts of the Palestinian Authority. He welcomed Israel’s decision, on 8 December, to allow exports from Gaza, consistent with security conditions, but noted a slight decrease in the number of truckloads entering Gaza over the past month. On Lebanon, he said that political activity continued to be dominated by speculation over the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and reported that the United Nations Special Coordinator, Michael Williams, continued to encourage all parties to resolve any disagreement through dialogue. The Council met in consultations following the briefing. Many members expressed concern over continuing Israeli settlement activity, and over the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

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