Security Council Delays Vote on Renewal of Interim Security Force for Abyei

The Security Council today delayed its vote on the renewal of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), whose mandate expires on 15 November.

The 15-member organ suspended its meeting to resume informal consultations on the mission, located in the Abyei Area, a disputed territory on the border of Sudan and South Sudan.

"In light of the discussion that took place on the text, including developments until the last minute, I wish to call on behalf of the A3+ members [Algeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Guyana], for closed consultations before we proceed," said the representative of Algeria, speaking for the A3+ group.

The representative of the United States also addressed the Council, noting that Washington, D.C., had "negotiated this draft in good faith, asking only for reasonable and common-sense benchmarks for this mission". Given the situation in South Sudan and the imperative of protecting civilians, he said the United States believes "this resolution should pass, and that every peacekeeping mission should have clear benchmarks to measure success and to ensure all parties are fulfilling the mandate entrusted by the Council".

Complete Live Blog coverage of today's meeting can be found here .