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| - The UN Security Council on Monday approved four resolutions, the first since the body began teleworking due to the novel coronavirus, in an unprecedented and hard to negotiate written procedure, diplomats said. Among the resolutions, the mandate for UN experts in charge of monitoring sanctions on North Korea, which was about to expire, was extended until the end of April 2021. The UN mission in Somalia was also extended, until the end of June, and the mission in Darfur until the end of May -- two short periods decided due to uncertainty over the spread of the pandemic. The Council, guarantor of global peace and security, also endorsed a fourth resolution aimed at improving the protection for peacekeepers. "All resolutions approved. Got unanimous support," a diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity. The virus has spread rapidly in New York state, the epicenter of COVID-19 illness in the US. Government recommendations for quarantining and teleworking made it difficult for the Security Council to function, and it has had to create completely new rules. But it was also at risk of no longer being able to do anything, another diplomat said. After about a dozen days of work, Council members agreed to give themselves 24 hours, following secret negotiations on draft resolutions, to electronically send their votes by letter to the UN Secretariat. The results will be made public after the votes are counted. prh/sdu/to/it
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