What's In Blue

Posted Mon 1 Oct 2018

Programme of Work for October 2018

Bolivia is the president of the Security Council in October. The programme of work was adopted earlier today.

As its signature event, Bolivia intends to hold a meeting on the role of natural resources as a root cause of conflict, which is expected to feature a briefing by Secretary-General António Guterres.

Two open debates are scheduled this month. One is the annual open debate on women, peace and security, which is expected to focus on the empowerment of women in peace processes. The Secretary-General is scheduled to brief, in addition to a possible civil society representative.

The quarterly debate on the Middle East (Israel/Palestine) will be held this month. It is anticipated that Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov will brief via video-teleconference.

Several other Middle East-related issues are on the programme this month. There will be the monthly briefings on political developments, the humanitarian situation, and the use of chemical weapons in Syria. The briefers are expected to be Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura (or another senior official from the Department of Political Affairs) on political developments, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock on the humanitarian situation, and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu on chemical weapons.

Consultations on the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Golan Heights are expected to be held mid-month and to feature a briefing by Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix.

Council members will receive the semi-annual briefing on the latest report on the implementation of resolution 1559, which called for the disarmament of all militias and the extension of government control over all Lebanese territory. Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo may provide the briefing.

Several African issues are on the programme. Early in the month, the Council is expected to renew the authorisation for member states to inspect vessels on the high seas off the coast of Libya that they have reasonable grounds to suspect are being used for migrant smuggling or human trafficking.

The Council will undertake a visiting mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) early in the month, which will be co-led by Bolivia, France and Equatorial Guinea. The co-leads will brief the Council on the visiting mission when they return. Leila Zerrougui, the Special Representative and head of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC, is also expected to brief the Council this month on the Secretary-General’s latest MONUSCO report. Her briefing will be followed by consultations.
Consultations on the Ebola situation in the DRC are also scheduled for early in the month.

Consultations are anticipated on the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). Late in the month, the Council is scheduled to adopt a resolution renewing the mandate of MINURSO, which expires on 31 October.

Several Sudan/South Sudan issues are scheduled. Ambassador Joanna Wronecka (Poland), chair of the 1591 Sudan Sanctions committee, is expected to provide the quarterly briefing on the committee’s work.

There will also be a briefing, followed by consultations, on the work of the AU/UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), which will feature a briefing by Lacroix on the Secretary-General’s quarterly UNAMID report.

The Council is expected to decide by 15 October whether to adopt a resolution extending support for the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism (JBVMM), established in 2011 to conduct monitoring and verification activities along the Sudan-South Sudan border as part of the mandate of the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA).
Consultations are scheduled late in the month on the implementation of UNISFA’s mandate and on Sudan/South Sudan issues. Lacroix is expected to brief on UNISFA, while Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Tayé-Brook Zerihoun may brief on Sudan/South Sudan issues.

Briefings, followed by consultations, are scheduled on the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA). Lacroix will brief on MINUSMA, while Special Representative and head of MINUSCA Parfait Onanga-Anyanga may brief on MINUSCA via video-teleconference.

The Council will receive a briefing this month from Special Representative Jean Arnault on the Secretary-General’s 90-day report on the UN Verification Mission in Colombia. Consultations are expected to follow the briefing.

The one European issue on the programme this month is Cyprus, with members expected to discuss in consultations a report on the Secretary-General’s good offices in Cyprus and the outcome of UN consultant Jane Holl Lute’s consultations on the negotiation process.

Early in October, the Council is scheduled to receive its annual briefing from the chairs of its counter-terrorism-related committees, Ambassador Sacha Sergio Llorenty Solíz (Bolivia), chair of the 1540 Committee, which focuses on the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; Ambassador Kairat Umarov (Kazakhstan), chair of the 1267/1989/2253 Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee; and Ambassador Gustavo Meza-Cuadra Velásquez (Peru), chair of the 1373 Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC). Solíz will also address the joint activities of all three committees.

ICJ President Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf will provide the annual briefing to the Council on the court’s work in a private meeting.

Arria-formula meetings are anticipated during the month on water, peace and security and on sexual violence in conflict.

Yemen, Ukraine and non-proliferation are in the footnotes of the programme. Meetings on these and other issues could be scheduled during the month.

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