Informal Interactive Dialogue with Kenya on ICC Issue

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:26:37 -0500

Tomorrow (23 May), Council members will have an interactive dialogue with representatives from Kenya to discuss International Criminal Court (ICC) proceedings against its nationals. On 2 May Kenya sent a note verbal to the President of the Council requesting termination of the proceedings before the ICC. (Six high-profile individuals connected to two rival political parties, including recently inaugurated President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Samoei Ruto, were issued summons by the ICC on 8 March 2011 for the alleged commission of crimes against humanity following the disputed 27 December 2007 elections. Since then, Pre-Trial Chamber II declined to confirm the charges against two individuals and in one case the Prosecutor has withdrawn the charges.) The letter asked for termination of the ICC proceedings by the Security Council rather than a deferral as contemplated under Article 16 of the Rome Statute, as was previously requested by Kenya in 2011. (On 18 March 2011, Council members had an interactive dialogue with representatives from Kenya and the AU where Kenya argued that an Article 16 deferral would give them time to establish alternative domestic adjudicative mechanisms. This was followed up by a letter from Kenya asking for an open debate to consider the request for a deferral which Council members did not agree to. See our 6 April 2011 Update Report: Kenya and the ICC for more background information.)

]]>The 2 May letter from Kenya was raised under “any

Consultations on Sudan-South Sudan and UNISFA

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:21:45 -0500

Tomorrow morning (23 May) the Security Council is scheduled to hold consultations on Sudan-South Sudan and the UN Interim Security Force in Abyei (UNISFA). Edmond Mulet, Assistant-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, is scheduled to brief. No immediate outcome is expected, although the Council will likely renew UNISFA’s mandate before its expiration at the end of the month. (The UNISFA adoption is currently scheduled for 29 May.) At press time, the Council had also been negotiating a draft presidential statement welcoming progress in the negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan. However, it is unclear when, and if, the Council will be able to achieve consensus on this statement.

]]>While Council members have been apprised of many of the

Renewal of UN Mission Mandate in Guinea-Bissau

Tue, 21 May 2013 19:36:36 -0500

Tomorrow, 22 May, the Security Council is scheduled to adopt a resolution extending the mandate of the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS) for a period of one year. The current authorisation of UNIOGBIS is due to expire on 31 May. The draft resolution was circulated on Wednesday night and, following three days of expert level negotiations, went under silence today until 2 pm and is now in blue.

]]>On 22 February, the Council reauthorised UNIOGBIS in resolution 2092

Working Group Meeting on Children and Armed Conflict

Mon, 20 May 2013 12:12:29 -0500

This afternoon (20 May), the Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict will have a formal meeting where it will discuss the issue of persistent perpetrators and the latest report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in Myanmar (S/2013/258). It will also receive a briefing from the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Leila Zerrougui, on her recent visit to Chad.

]]>Following this meeting, members of the Working Group will have

Arria Formula Meeting on Women, Peace and Security

Thu, 16 May 2013 14:34:26 -0500

On Friday afternoon (17 May), Security Council members are set to hold an Arria Formula meeting focusing on the progress and challenges to the implementation of the women, peace and security agenda with a particular focus on field perspectives from gender practitioners in peacekeeping operations. Panelists include Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Hervé Ladsous; Gaynel Curry, the first women protection adviser deployed in the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS); Elsie Effange-Mbella, a senior gender adviser in the UN Stabilisation Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO); and Lucien LeClair, a police adviser for the UN Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).
Council members Australia and Guatemala organized the Arria Formula meeting in cooperation with DPKO. In addition to Council members, participation is also expected by civil society and other member states.

]]>One of the priorities of the meeting will be to

Briefing and Consultations on the Central African Republic

Tue, 14 May 2013 17:08:51 -0500

Tomorrow morning (15 May), the Security Council will be briefed by the Secretary- General’s Special Representative and head of the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in the Central African Republic (BINUCA) Margaret Vogt on the latest BINUCA report. The Prime Minister of the transitional government in the Central African Republic (CAR), Nicolas Tiangaye, will attend the briefing, which will be followed by consultations. Currently no outcome has been suggested but a press statement remains a possibility.

]]>The latest BINUCA report (S/2013/261), circulated on 3 May, updated

Open Debate: Challenges of Combating Terrorism in Africa

Fri, 10 May 2013 17:55:53 -0500

On Monday morning (13 May), at the initiative of Togo, the Security Council is scheduled to hold an open debate on the challenges of combating terrorism in Africa. The meeting will be chaired by President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé of Togo, and a briefing is expected by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, as well as representatives from the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) and the African Center for Studies and Research on Terrorism. The Council is planning to adopt a presidential statement, which was under silence until 4:30pm today (Friday). The debate comes on the heels of today’s semi-annual briefing by the chairs of the Council’s three counter-terrorism-related committees: the 1267/1989 Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee, the 1373 Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC), and the 1540 Committee on the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

]]>In preparation for the debate, Togo circulated a concept note

Briefing by Counter-Terrorism Committee Chairs

Thu, 09 May 2013 15:13:44 -0500

Tomorrow (10 May), the Security Council is scheduled to hold its semi-annual briefing of the chairs of its counter-terrorism-related committees. (The last such debate was held on 14 November 2012.) The briefers will be Ambassador Gary Quinlan (Australia), who chairs the 1267/1989 Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee, Ambassador Mohammed Loulichki (Morocco), who chairs the 1373 Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC), and Ambassador Kim Sook (Republic of Korea), who chairs the 1540 Committee, concerning the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. In the context of recent terrorist attacks in Africa and the upcoming debate on the challenges of the fight against terrorism in Africa (to be held on 13 May), this briefing is likely to be an opportunity for Council members to cover a wide range of issues which are highly relevant to the Council’s current work on counter-terrorism.

]]>1267/1989 Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee Council members will have the opportunity

Consultations on Lebanon

Tue, 07 May 2013 14:43:31 -0500

Tomorrow (8 May) Council members will be briefed in consultations by Special Envoy Terje Rød-Larsen on the Secretary-General’s latest report on the implementation of resolution 1559. No outcome is expected. The destabilising effects of the spillover from the conflict in Syria on the political and security situation in Lebanon is likely to be a key focus of the discussion. Two of the key unresolved issues impeding the full implementation resolution 1559 are the fact that Hezbollah maintains a significant arsenal outside of the control of the government of Lebanon and that the delineation of the border between Syria and Lebanon has not taken place.

]]>It is likely that Council members will be most interested

Interactive Dialogue with the ICC Prosecutor

Mon, 06 May 2013 17:00:58 -0500

Tomorrow morning (7 May) the Security Council, at the request of Guatemala, is scheduled to hold an informal interactive dialogue with the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda. Although scheduled to provide a periodic briefing on the work of the ICC in Libya the following day (8 May), Bensouda will have the opportunity to engage in a broader and potentially less scripted exchange on the situation in Libya with Council members through the interactive dialogue format. Council members will also exchange views with the ICC Prosecutor on cooperation between the Council and the ICC and ways to enhance the Council’s support to the work of the Office of the Prosecutor. (As a closed meeting, the interactive dialogue format is likely to allow greater exchange between Council members and the Prosecutor than the public briefing format. The format of consultations was not available as non-UN officials cannot participate in consultations. Rule 39 of the Provisional Rules of Procedure of the Security Council, which indicates that Secretariat officials “or other persons” may be invited to provide information to the Council, does not apply because consultations are not governed by the Provisional Rules of Procedure.)

]]>Although this is the first time Council members will have

Briefing by OSCE Chairperson-in-Office

Mon, 06 May 2013 16:56:33 -0500

Tomorrow, 7 May, the Security Council will be briefed by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara, the Chairperson-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The Council last received its annual briefing from the OSCE chair (which rotates on an annual basis among OSCE members) on 9 February 2012 from Eamon Gilmore of Ireland (S/PV.6715). (Generally this briefing takes place soon after the OSCE chair takes office, but scheduling difficulties delayed the current briefing.) Kozhara may cover the organisation’s role in Kosovo as well as mediation regarding Georgia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and the Transnistria region of Moldova.

]]>There may be interest in hearing more about the OSCE’s

May Programme of Work for the Security Council

Thu, 02 May 2013 16:38:22 -0500

In May the Council’s programme of work has a number of terrorism related meetings as well the adoption of at least three resolutions. Togo, Council president in May, has chosen a debate on the challenges of fighting terrorism in Africa in the context of maintaining international peace and security as the centerpiece of its presidency. The debate, which will be held under the agenda item “Peace and Security in Africa,” will probably highlight the situation in the Sahel. Togolese President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé will preside and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is expected to brief. The chairs of African subregional organisations are also likely to attend, and a presidential statement is the probable outcome.

]]>Briefings are expected next week on the work of the

Adoption of Somalia Resolution

Wed, 01 May 2013 18:53:23 -0500

Tomorrow morning, Thursday, 2 May, the Council is scheduled to adopt a resolution creating the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) to be deployed by 3 June for an initial period of 12 months.

]]>The draft resolution which is now in blue is in

Private Meeting With Jordan on Syria

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:00:22 -0500

Tomorrow morning (30 April) at 9:30 a.m., the Council is expected to hold a private meeting with Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al Hussein, the Permanent Representative of Jordan, on the impact of the influx of Syrian refugees on Jordan. No other speakers from either the UN Secretariat or the larger membership are expected to participate. (A private meeting is a formal meeting of the Council which is not open to the public. There will be no verbatim record although a communiqué will be issued at the conclusion of the meeting in keeping with rule 55 of the Provisional Rules of Procedure of the Security Council.)

]]>Separately, Russia today circulated a draft press statement in response

Wrap-Up Session for April 2013

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 17:33:10 -0500

Tomorrow morning the Security Council is expected to hold a wrap-up session for the month of April. This will be the third wrap-up session of the monthly programme of work since January 2013. (Pakistan and ROK held similar sessions in January and February, while Russia chose not to hold one in March.) Like the two previous sessions, this wrap-up session will be held as a private meeting where non-Council members will be able to attend under rule 37 of the Provisional Rules of Procedure of the Security Council, but will not participate. As with all private meetings of the Council, a communiqué will be issued at the conclusion of the meeting in keeping with rule 55 of the Provisional Rules of Procedure. (The communiqué will likely list the non-Council members who observed the meeting.)

]]>It seems that Rwanda, the President of the Council for

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