UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- Large-scale humanitarian crises persisted in the world and in some cases worsened, and large flows of displaced people within and across borders continued as a result of conflict, according to the 2018 Report of the Security Council to the General Assembly.
Discussed in the plenary meetings of the UN General Assembly this week, the newly released annual Security Council report said that the Council held 288 formal meetings during 2018.
The Council adopted 54 resolutions and 21 presidential statements and issued 87 statements to the press, it added.
In 2018, the Council continued to focus on a number of serious unresolved conflicts, in particular in the Middle East and Africa, the report stressed, adding that the impact of these conflicts on civilians was severe. Large-scale humanitarian crises persisted and in some cases worsened, and large flows of displaced people within and across borders continued as a result of conflict.
"Divisions in the Council prevented it from taking effective action on some key conflicts," it highlighted.
However, Italy's Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Stefano Stefanile said that the report "does not say much about the inaction of the Security Council."
Speaking at the General Assembly plenary meeting held on Thursday, Stefanile said the report does not elaborate further on the inability of the Council to deliver, adding that it does not say anything about other issues where the mere threat of veto prevented the Council from taking action.
Nevertheless, there were several positive developments in 2018, said the Council in the report. For example, Countries of the Horn of Africa were able to make progress in resolving longstanding bilateral disputes, the United Nations Mission in Liberia concluded its work, and a peace agreement was signed in South Sudan.
In Asia, the level of tension on the Korean Peninsula reduced as a result of the dialogue between the parties. In the Middle East, Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as Da'esh) was driven out of Iraq and lost control of most of the territory that it held in the Syrian Arab Republic.
Progress was made in the peace process in Colombia, and elections in countries including Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq and Lebanon made important contributions to political stability, the report emphasized.
"We are pleased to observe that the Council's work in 2018 produced several examples of positive contributions to international peace and security," said Craig Hawke, the Permanent Representative of New Zealand to the United Nations. "In Liberia, Colombia, and Iraq, among others, the Council supported growing stability."
"These are important examples of the critical role the Council can and does play when it is able to act with a clear voice and purpose."
"The Security Council has an inevitable task," said Hawke. "Its deliberations and decisions matter profoundly on a global scale. Whether the Council acts or not, and how it acts, impacts the lives of millions."
Norway's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Mona Juul said that the Security Council now is "more important than ever, meeting to face global challenges both new and recurring."
The 15-member Security Council has five permanent members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, and 10 non-permanent members elected for two-year terms by the UN General Assembly.
The Security Council's powers include the establishment of peacekeeping operations and international sanctions as well as the authorization of military actions through resolutions. It is the only body of the UN with the authority to issue binding resolutions to member states. The Council held its first session on Jan. 17, 1946.
