Security Council Programme of Work for April
Peru is the president of the Security Council in April.
Its presidency will feature a ministerial-level briefing on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace, which will take place back to back and in cooperation with the President of the General Assembly’s high-level meeting on the same topic. Secretary-General António Guterres will brief.
Peru’s presidency also includes an open debate on Youth, Peace and Security. Expected among the briefers are Graeme Simpson, the lead author for the Progress Study on Youth, Peace and Security requested in December 2015 by Council resolution 2250, and a civil society representative. A resolution is the anticipated outcome.
There will be an open debate on Women, Peace and Security with a focus on “preventing sexual violence in conflict through empowerment, gender equality and access to justice”. Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed is expected to brief via video teleconference. Other briefers may include UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict Pramila Patten and a civil society representative.
Peru is further planning to organise an Arria-formula meeting on counter-terrorism and terrorist links to organised crime, and the role of regional organisations in fighting terrorism. Under-Secretary-General of the UN Counter-Terrorism Office Vladimir Voronkov and the Executive Director of UNODC Yury Fedotov are expected to brief. Representatives from the OAS, AU, EU, OSCE, LAS and ASEAN are also expected to participate. Peru plans to work on a presidential statement on this topic.
There will also be an Arria-formula meeting during the month on the role of religious leaders in promoting peace and security.
The annual Security Council retreat with the Secretary-General will take place later in the month in Sweden. The focus of the retreat will be on peacekeeping and partnerships.
The Council is due to renew the mandate of the UN Mission for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH), which expires on 15 April. Prior to the renewal, the Council will hold a debate. Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix is expected to brief.
The Council is also expected to renew the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), which expires on 30 April. Prior to the mandate renewal, there will be a briefing in consultations by Special Representative for Western Sahara and head of MINURSO Colin Stewart. There will also be a meeting early in the month with the troop- and police-contributing countries to MINURSO, with a briefing by DPKO.
There are several other African issues on the programme this month. The Council will receive a briefing, followed by consultations, on the Great Lakes Region from Special Envoy Said Djinnit.
There will also be a briefing, followed by consultations, on the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and the work of the 2374 Mali Sanctions Committee. Special Representative for Mali and head of MINUSMA Mahamat Saleh Annadif will brief on the mission, and Ambassador Olof Skoog (Sweden), who chairs the committee, will brief on its recent work.
The Council will have a briefing on the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) to consider the mission’s concluding report. Lacroix and Skoog (the latter in his capacity as chair of the Liberia configuration of the Peacebuilding Commission) are expected to brief. Chid Liberty, CEO of Africa’s leading ethical apparel manufacturing company Liberty & Justice, will also brief.
Lacroix, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Special Envoy Ismail Wais, and a civil society representative are scheduled to brief on the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock is expected to brief Council members on South Sudan in consultations following the briefing.
Council members are expected to meet in consultations to receive a briefing from Lacroix and Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan Nicholas Haysom on the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) and the situation between Sudan and South Sudan.
There will also be an informal interactive dialogue during the month on African issues on the Council’s agenda with AU Commissioner for Peace and Security Smail Chergui and Lacroix following a field visit to Central African Republic, Darfur and Addis Ababa.
The Council will receive a briefing on Non-Proliferation and the work of the 1540 Committee from Ambassador Sacha Sergio Llorenty Solíz (Bolivia), who chairs the committee.
Regarding the Middle East, there will be the regular briefings on the political and humanitarian situations and on chemical weapons in Syria. The Deputy to the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Thomas Markram, is expected to brief on chemical weapons. Later in the month, Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura and Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Ursula Mueller are expected to brief on the political and humanitarian situations, respectively, during the same meeting. This will be followed by consultations.
The Council expects briefings on Yemen by Special Envoy Martin Griffiths and Lowcock. This will be Griffith’s first briefing to the Council as the newly-appointed Special Envoy. It is anticipated that this briefing will be followed by consultations.
The quarterly open debate on the Middle East (Israel/Palestine) is also planned for April. It is expected to include a briefing by Nickolay Mladenov, the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process.
Colombia is on the programme of work this month. A briefing is anticipated from the Special Representative and head of the UN Verification Mission in Colombia, Jean Arnault, on the Secretary-General’s 90-day report on the mission. Foreign Minister of Colombia María Ángela Holguín and a civil society representative are expected to participate in the meeting, which will be followed by consultations.
Late in the month, Council members are expected to conduct visiting missions to Iraq and to Myanmar and Bangladesh. The terms of reference and the itinerary for these missions are currently being discussed by Council members.
Non-proliferation and Ukraine are in the footnotes. Meetings on these and other issues could be scheduled during the month.
