Statement [Made on Behalf of the Security Council, at the 7318th Meeting, 21 Nov. 2014, in Connection with the Council's Consideration of the Item Entitled "Peace and Security in Africa"]

S/PRST/2014/24View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Presidential Statement of the Security Council, under agenda item 100 Peace and security in Africa, published in 2014.

What subjects does this mandate have?

7 subjects

Disease Control Disease Prevention Ebola Virus Disease Emergency Medical Services Guinea Liberia Sierra Leone

What’s in this document?

10 paragraphs

At the 7318th meeting of the Security Council, held on 21 November 2014, in connection with the Council’s consideration of the item entitled “Peace and security in Africa”, the President of the Security Council made the following statement on behalf of the Council:

“The Security Council reiterates its grave concern about the unprecedented extent of the Ebola outbreak in Africa, which constitutes a threat to international peace and security, and the impact of the Ebola virus on West Africa, in particular Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. The Security Council expresses its appreciation for the crucial contributions and commitments made by the Member States of the region, to continue to lead the ground-level response against the Ebola outbreak, as well as to address the wider political, security, socioeconomic and humanitarian impact, including on food security, of the Ebola outbreak on communities and the need to plan for the longer term recovery in the region, including with the support of the Peacebuilding Commission. The Security Council underscores the continued need for robust contact tracing, social mobilization and community-level engagement efforts, especially outside of major urban areas in the most affected countries.

“The Security Council stresses the importance for the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) to continue to strengthen coordination with the governments of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone and all national, regional and international actors, including bilateral partners and multilateral organizations, including the Mano River Union, African Union, Economic Community of West African States, European Union, World Bank Group and the United Nations System, in order to more readily identify gaps in the response effort and to utilize all Ebola response assistance more fully and efficiently, particularly at the local level. In this regard, the Security Council requests that the Secretary-General accelerate efforts to scale-up UNMEER’s presence and activities at the district and prefecture level outside of the capital cities.

“The Security Council expresses its concern about the recent reported Ebola infections in Mali. The Security Council recognizes the important steps taken by the government of Mali, including by appointing an Ebola Incident Coordinator to lead a whole-of-government response. The Security Council affirms the importance of preparedness by all Member States to detect, prevent, respond to, isolate and mitigate suspected cases of Ebola within and across borders and of bolstering the preparedness of all countries in the region. The Security Council recalls the International Health Regulations (2005), which aim to improve the capacity of all countries to detect, assess, notify and respond to all public health threats.

“The Security Council welcomes the efforts undertaken by UNMEER to provide overall leadership and direction to the operational work of the United Nations System, as mandated by the United Nations General Assembly. The Security Council underscores the need for relevant United Nations System entities, including the United Nations peacekeeping operations and special political missions in West Africa, in close collaboration with UNMEER and within their existing mandates and capacities, to provide immediate assistance to the governments of the most affected countries.

“The Security Council lauds the critical, heroic and selfless efforts of the first-line responders to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, including national health and humanitarian relief workers, educators, and burial team members, as well as international health and humanitarian relief workers contributed by the Member States of diverse regions and non-governmental and inter-governmental organizations. The Security Council expresses its condolences to the families of the victims of the Ebola outbreak, including national and international first-line responders. The Security Council urges all Member States, non-governmental, inter-governmental and regional organizations to continue to respond to the outstanding need for medical personnel, as well as related critical gap areas such as personnel with expertise in sanitation and hygiene.

“The Security Council underscores the critical importance of putting in place essential arrangements, including medical evacuation capacities and treatment and transport provisions, to facilitate the immediate, unhindered and sustainable deployment of health and humanitarian relief workers to the affected countries. The Security Council welcomes the steps announced by Member States and regional organizations to provide medical evacuation capacities for health and humanitarian relief workers, as well as other treatment options in situ.

“The Security Council notes the considerable efforts of the international community to scale-up its coordinated response to the Ebola outbreak and the important progress on the ground as a result of these contributions. In this regard, the Security Council commends those Member States, which, in concert with other actors on the ground, have opened Ebola Treatment Units and provided other crucial support in the affected countries. The Security Council urges all Member States, bilateral partners and multilateral organizations, to expedite the provision of resources and financial assistance, as well as mobile laboratories; field hospitals to provide non-Ebola related medical care; dedicated and trained clinical personnel and services in Ebola Treatment Units and isolation units; therapies, vaccines and diagnostics to treat patients and limit or prevent further Ebola infection or transmission; and personal protective equipment for first-line responders. The Security Council calls on Member States, especially in the region, to facilitate immediately the delivery of such assistance, to the most affected countries.

“The Security Council emphasizes that the dynamic needs on the ground in the most affected countries require that the international community’s response remains flexible, in order to adapt to changing requirements and rapidly respond to new outbreaks.

“The Security Council strongly urges Member States, as well as airlines and shipping companies, while applying appropriate public health protocols, to maintain trade and transport links with the most affected countries to enable the timely utilization of all efforts aimed at containing the Ebola outbreak within and across borders of the region. While recognizing the important role that appropriate screening measures can play in stopping the spread of the outbreak, the Security Council expresses its continued concern about the detrimental effect of the isolation of the affected countries as a result of trade and travel restrictions imposed on and to the affected countries, as well as acts of discrimination against the nationals of Guinea, Liberia, Mali and Sierra Leone, including Ebola survivors and their families or those infected with the disease.”

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