Overview
In February, Panama will have the presidency of the Council. A major focus will be increasing the number of Council meetings opened to participation from the wider UN membership.
An important thematic debate is scheduled for 12 February on Children in Armed Conflict. The Foreign Minister of Panama, Samuel Lewis Navarro, is expected to preside and it seems likely that the Foreign Minister of France, Bernard Kouchner, will also be present. It is expected to be an open debate.
Open debates were also under discussion at time of writing on:
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Darfur (to discuss the UNAMID deployment);
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Somalia (to discuss the renewal of the authorisation of the AU force AMISOM);and
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Timor-Leste (to renew the UNMIT mandate and consider conclusions from the visiting mission).
A public session on the Middle East is also expected—although the format is unclear at this stage and is likely to be influenced by developments.
Debates are also possible on:
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Kosovo (depending on developments in the region);
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Iran (the draft resolution on sanctions, elements of which had been agreed by the P5 plus Germany at time of writing and were being made available informally to elected members); and
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Counter-Terrorism (the recommendations for improvement of CTED— although this may need to wait until March).
A public meeting on the DRC is expected to renew the sanctions regime and the mandate of the Group of Experts.
Also, a public meeting to appoint temporary judges for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) requested by the president of the Tribunal (S/2007/788), is likely.
In addition consultations or briefings are possible on:
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Lebanon (progresswith the tribunal and to respond to developments);
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Sierra Leone (consideration of a completion strategy for the UN mission);
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Western Sahara (to review the Secretary-General’s report on progress);
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Conflict Prevention (to consider the recommendations of the December seminar organised by Congo and the advice of the Council’s Working Group); and
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Myanmar (depending on developments).
Mandates expiring in January and requiring Council decisions are:
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DRC (sanctions and Group of Experts);
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Somalia (AMISOM); and
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Timor-Leste (UNMIT).
