Pillay urges field mission to Egypt to assist in democracy transition, Security Council discusses Cote d’Ivoire and more from UN Direct

Egypt: High Commissioner Navi Pillay is currently asking the Egyptian government to accept a OHCHR mission to assess the situation on the ground and identify ways that it can help the Egyptians transition to democracy from a human rights perspective.  OHCHR currently does not have a field presence in Egypt.

Security Council: the Council met this afternoon to consider a resolution authorizing the continued temporary deployment of UNMIL troops to Côte d’Ivoire.

Israel: the press is reporting that the resolution condemning Israeli settlements may be tabled Thursday or Friday of this week.  It is also possible that, under threat of a U.S. veto, they will use the “Uniting for Peace” mechanism and opt for the GA to vote on the resolution instead.

DRC: MONUSCO is reporting that on February 15, Samuel Bisengimana was extracted in Eastern DRC, a “serious blow” to FDLR, as he was responsible for mobilizing their civilian support.  His extraction comes after the extraction of three other majors by MONUSCO through various operations in January.  Last year, 1,881 FDLR rebels opted for voluntary surrender and disarmament with MONUSCO, including 64 officers.