What's In Blue

Posted Thu 1 Jun 2017

The Security Council’s June Programme of Work

Bolivia is the president of the Council this month. Tomorrow the Council is expected to adopt a draft resolution on the DPRK, which will include new targeted sanctions listings.

The June programme of work includes two briefings under the agenda item “maintenance of international peace and security”. The first will be at ministerial-level with Bolivian President Evo Morales presiding, and will focus on “Preventive Diplomacy and Transboundary Waters”. Secretary-General António Guterres is expected to brief. The second is on a “Comprehensive Approach to Mine Action and Explosive Hazard Threat Mitigation” with Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix briefing. A resolution is a possible outcome.

There will be a number of other thematic briefings this month, including one on UN counter-terrorism efforts in support of member states against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). There will also be a briefing on post-conflict peacebuilding and sustaining peace with the current chair of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), Ambassador Cho Tae-yul (Republic of Korea), as well as the former chair, Ambassador Macharia Kamau (Kenya). This will be followed by an informal interactive dialogue with the chairs of the country configurations and the six countries on the PBC agenda (Burundi, CAR, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea). A briefing on UN-AU cooperation, based on the Secretary-General’s report on strengthening the partnership between the AU and the UN, is also anticipated.

An open debate on non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction focusing on non-state actors is expected at the end of the month.

Regarding African issues, the Council will be closely following developments in Libya with a briefing expected by Special Representative and head of UNSMIL, Martin Kobler, followed by consultations. The mandate of the Panel of Experts assisting the 1970 Libya Sanctions Committee, the authorisation to inspect vessels suspected to be violating the arms embargo, and the measures regarding attempts to illicitly export crude oil from Libya are expected to be renewed at the end of the month.

In preparation for the mandate renewals of UNAMID in Darfur and MINUSMA in Mali at the end of the month, there will be briefings and consultations, as well as meetings with troop- and police-contributing countries. There will also be the semi-annual briefing by the ICC prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, on the court’s work relating to Darfur.

Other meetings on African issues this month include:

  • Burundi, an update on the situation; 
  • Central Africa, the regular meetings on the activities of UNOCA and MINUSCA;
  • Côte d’Ivoire, a final briefing followed by the adoption of a presidential statement marking the closure of UNOCI; 
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo, adoption of a resolution extending the 1533 sanctions regime and mandate of its Group of Experts for two months;
  • Liberia, an update on UNMIL and the roll-out of the peacebuilding plan;
  • Somalia, the renewal of UNSOM; and
  • South Sudan, an update on UNMISS.

There are a number of Middle East issues on the programme of work. The regular monthly briefing on the Middle East is expected to include briefings by Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov, Arab League chairman Ahmed Aboul Gheit, and a member of The Elders. There will be consultations on the Golan Heights with Under-Secretary-General Hervé Ladsous ahead of the adoption of a resolution renewing the mandate of the UN Disengagement Observer Force, UNDOF.

The monthly meetings on chemical weapons, political issues, and humanitarian issues in Syria are again on the programme of work. Consultations are anticipated on chemical weapons with a briefing by High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu on the use and production of chemical weapons in Syria. Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura is expected to brief the Council on political developments, while Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Stephen O’Brien will brief on the humanitarian crisis.

A discussion is anticipated on the implementation of resolution 2231, which endorsed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran’s nuclear programme, with Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman, a representative of the EU in its capacity as coordinator of the Joint Commission, the body responsible for overseeing the JCPOA’s implementation, and Ambassador Sebastiano Cardi (Italy), the incoming 2231 Council facilitator.

Regarding Asian issues, the Council will have its quarterly debate on UNAMA in Afghanistan with a briefing by Special Representative and head of UNAMA Tadamichi Yamamoto. Members will also be briefed by Special Representative Petko Draganov on the activities of the regional centre in Central Asia, UNRCCA.

The Council’s semi-annual debate on the ad hoc international criminal tribunals, including the ICTY and the Residual Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals, will be held in June.

A Council visiting mission to Haiti is planned for the third week of June, with a briefing on the mission scheduled for the end of the month.

Members will also be following developments in Guinea-Bissau and Yemen, and meetings may be scheduled during the month. There may also be a presidential statement on Yemen adopted this month.

Possible Arria-formula meetings this month include the prevention of violent extremism in the Horn of Africa and food security.

Finally, the General Assembly is scheduled to elect six non-permanent Security Council members on 2 June. Unusually, there are six candidates this year instead of five, as Italy will relinquish the seat it has held since 1 January 2017 after serving for one year, and a by-election will thus be held for one seat for the Western European and Others Group (WEOG). All six candidates—Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Peru and Poland—are currently running unopposed as sole candidates for their respective regional groups.

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