What's In Blue

Posted Mon 1 Aug 2022

Programme of Work for August 2022

China is the president of the Security Council in August. The Council adopted its provisional programme of work for the month earlier today (1 August). In his briefing to the UN press corps this afternoon on China’s monthly presidency, Ambassador Zhang Jun emphasised the importance of decreasing current global tensions.

China plans to organise two signature events in August. The first will be an open debate on “Peace and security in Africa: Capacity-building for sustaining peace”. The objective of the meeting is to identify challenges to sustaining peace in Africa and to generate ideas to support capacity-building on the continent to address these challenges. Bankole Adeoye, the Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security of the AU Commission, and Ambassador Muhammad Abdul Muhith of Bangladesh, the chair of the PBC, are expected to brief. China might pursue an outcome in connection with the meeting.

The second signature event will be a briefing on “Maintenance of international peace and security: Promoting common security through dialogue and cooperation”. Secretary-General António Guterres is expected to brief.

The Council is also planning to hold a briefing this month on the Secretary-General’s 15th strategic-level report on the threat posed by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or Da’esh). Under-Secretary-General Vladimir Voronkov, the head of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), and Weixiong Chen, the Acting Executive Director of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), will brief.

In addition to the open debate on peace and security in Africa, several other African issues are on the programme this month.

The Security Council will receive the semi-annual briefing of the ICC Prosecutor, Karim Asad Ahmad Khan, on the ICC’s Darfur-related activities.

The Council is expected to hold a briefing, followed by consultations, on the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and the 1970 Libya Sanctions Committee. A high-level official from the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs is expected to brief on UNSMIL, while the chair of the 1970 Libya Sanctions Committee, Ambassador Ravindra Raguttahalli (India), is likely to brief on the committee’s activities.

Late in the month, the Council is scheduled to renew the Mali asset freeze and travel ban sanctions, which expire on 31 August, and the mandate of the Mali Panel of Experts, which expires on 30 September.

Several Middle Eastern issues will also be addressed during August.

The Council is expected to hold its monthly briefing on Yemen, followed by closed consultations. Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg and OCHA Director of Operations and Advocacy Ghada Eltahir will brief. Major General Michael Beary, the head of the UN Mission to Support the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA), is expected to brief during the consultations.

The Council is expected to renew the mandate of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) ahead of its 31 August expiry. Prior to that, the Council will hold a meeting with UNIFIL troop-contributing countries and closed consultations on UNIFIL. Khaled Khiari, the Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, is the anticipated briefer in both meetings.

The Council will hold its monthly meetings on the Syria political, humanitarian and chemical weapons tracks. Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen and Assistant-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Joyce Msuya are the scheduled briefers in a joint meeting on political and humanitarian issues, respectively. High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu may brief in a separate meeting on the Syria chemical weapons file.

Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland will brief during the monthly meeting on “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question”. Philippe Lazzarini, the Director-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East, and a civil society representative may also brief. Closed consultations are scheduled to follow the briefing.

Regarding Asian issues, there will be consultations on the 90-day report of the 1718 Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) Sanctions Committee.  The Acting Chair of the 1718 Committee, Ambassador Trine Heimerback (Norway), is the anticipated briefer.

With regard to European issues, the Council is likely to meet on Ukraine during the course of the month, given the ongoing fighting in the country between Ukraine and Russia.

Council members may also discuss Georgia in August. This month marks the 14th anniversary of the 2008 conflict between Russia and Georgia.

Other issues could be raised in August depending on developments.

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