Programme of Work for July 2022
Brazil is the president of the Security Council in July. The Council adopted its provisional programme of work for the month earlier today (1 July).
Brazil has chosen to organise two signature events this month. It will convene a ministerial-level open debate on strategic communications in peacekeeping. Brazil’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Alberto Franco França is expected to chair the meeting. Secretary-General António Guterres will deliver remarks. The anticipated briefers are Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix; Force Commander for the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) Lieutenant General Marcos De Sá Affonso Da Costa; and Jenna Russo, Director of Research and Head of the Brian Urquhart Center for Peace Operations at the International Peace Institute (IPI). A presidential statement is a possible outcome.
The second signature event is the annual open debate on children and armed conflict. Brazilian Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Fernando Simas Magalhães is expected to chair the meeting. Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict Virginia Gamba is expected to present the Secretary-General’s annual report on children and armed conflict, which is due in early July. Other speakers are likely to include Executive Director of UNICEF Catherine Russell and a civil society briefer.
On 6 July, Brazil will organise “Sofa Talks”—an informal format for frank conversations among the Council’s permanent representatives about peace and security matters—at the Greentree Estate on Long Island.
In July, the Security Council will also receive a briefing on the annual report of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC).
Ukraine is likely to continue as a key focus for Council members this month. Brazil expects to convene a meeting on the ongoing efforts to allow the export of Ukrainian food through the Black Sea and unimpeded access of Russian food and fertilisers to global markets. The timing of the meeting will be determined in accordance with developments in the negotiations on this issue. Council members may convene additional meetings on Ukraine, depending on developments on the ground.
The other European issue on this month’s programme is Cyprus. The Council is scheduled to renew the mandate of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) ahead of its 31 July expiry. Prior to that, Council members will receive a briefing in consultations from Special Representative and head of UNFICYP Colin Stewart. The Council will also hold a meeting with UNFICYP’s troop-contributing countries, in which Stewart will participate.
Regarding the Americas, the Council expects to renew the mandate of the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) ahead of its 15 July expiry.
The Council will hold its quarterly meeting on Colombia this month. Special Representative and head of the UN Verification Mission in Colombia Carlos Ruiz Massieu will brief. Francisco de Roux, the head of Colombia’s Truth Commission, and a civil society representative are also expected to brief at the meeting, which will have a transitional justice-related focus.
In July, Council members will receive a briefing in consultations on the work of the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA). Special Representative and head of UNRCCA Natalia Gherman is the anticipated briefer.
Several Middle Eastern issues are on the programme this month.
The Council is scheduled to vote on a draft resolution re-authorising the cross-border humanitarian assistance mechanism in Syria, which expires on 10 July. The monthly meetings on the political, humanitarian and chemical weapons tracks in Syria are also expected to take place in July. Deputy to the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Thomas Markram is expected to brief on the chemical weapons file. Special Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths will brief Council members in closed consultations on political and humanitarian developments, respectively.
Council members are expected to vote on a resolution renewing the mandate of the UN Mission to Support the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA). There will also be an open briefing and closed consultations on Yemen. Briefings are expected from UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg and Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Joyce Msuya. Major General Michael Beary, the head of UNMHA, is expected to brief in consultations.
There will be a briefing in consultations on the implementation of resolution 1701, which in 2006 called for a cessation of hostilities between the Shi’a militant group Hezbollah and Israel. The anticipated briefers are Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka and Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix.
The Council will convene for its quarterly open debate on “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question”. A UN Secretariat official is expected to brief.
The Council will also address several African issues in July.
The Security Council will hold its biannual briefing on West Africa and the Sahel. Special Representative and head of the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) Mahamat Saleh Annadif will brief. The current chair of the PBC, Ambassador Rabab Fatima (Bangladesh), and a civil society representative are also expected to brief.
The Council is expected to extend the sanctions measures imposed on the Central African Republic (CAR) ahead of their 31 July expiry and renew the mandate of the Panel of Experts assisting the 2127 CAR Sanctions Committee, which expires on 31 August.
The Security Council will also receive the semi-annual briefing of the ICC Prosecutor, Karim Asad Ahmad Khan, on the ICC’s Darfur-related activities.
On Libya, the Council is expected to vote on a resolution renewing the mandate of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) ahead of its 31 July expiry. The Council may also vote to renew the mandate of the Panel of Experts assisting the 1970 Libya Sanctions Committee by 15 July, and extend measures related to the illicit export of petroleum from Libya, which expire on 30 July. There will also be an open briefing, followed by closed consultations, on the situation in Libya. An official from the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) is expected to brief. A senior diplomat from India, the chair of the 1970 Libya Sanctions Committee, may present the periodic report on the committee’s activities. A civil society representative may also brief.
Council members will follow developments related to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Ethiopia and Myanmar. They may choose to convene meetings on these and any other issues.
Brazil has made several informal working methods commitments for its July presidency. Among other things, it aims to facilitate better coordination and cooperation with the other principal organs of the UN. In this regard, Brazil seeks to highlight avenues for cooperation with the PBC and will encourage the participation of PBC briefers in Council meetings. Brazil also plans to build on the statement of shared commitments on women, peace and security, which it has undertaken together with Albania, Norway, the United Arab Emirates, the UK, and former Council member Niger. It will encourage the participation of women briefers at Council meetings and the inclusion of gender analysis as a cross-cutting issue in all relevant meetings.
