Overview

Chad will hold the presidency of the Council in December and has planned two open debates. Chadian Foreign Minister Moussa Faki Mahamat will preside over a high-level open debate on terrorism’s linkages with transnational organised crime and Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman will brief. The Secretary-General and a representative of the African Union are expected to brief at the other open debate initiated by Chad this month on the evolution of the partnership between the UN and the AU in peace operations.

Debates are planned on:

• the ad hoc international criminal tribunals with the Presidents and Prosecutors of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) briefing;
• Afghanistan, with a briefing Special Representative Nicholas Haysom; and
• Kosovo (initially planned for November), with a briefing by Special Representative Farid Zarif.

Briefings are expected on:

• the implementation of the UN’s integrated Sahel strategy by Special Envoy Hiroute Guebre Sellassie;
• the work of the 1737 Iran Sanctions Committee by its chair, Ambassador Gary Quinlan (Australia);
• the ICC work on Darfur by Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda; and
• the experience chairing Council subsidiary bodies by the permanent representatives who are rotating off the Council: María Cristina Perceval (Argentina), Quinlan (Australia); Oh Joon (Republic of Korea), Sylvie Lucas (Luxembourg) and Eugène-Richard Gasana (Rwanda).

Briefings, followed by consultations, are expected on:

• the AU/UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur by Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Hervé Ladsous;
• the situation in Libya by Special Representative Bernardino León and the work of the 1970 Libya Sanctions Committee by its chair, Ambassador Gasana (Rwanda);
• the work of UNOCA and implementation of the regional strategy to combat the Lord’s Resistance Army by Special Representative Abdoulaye Bathily;
• Israel/Palestine, with a briefing by Special Coordinator Robert Serry;
• the humanitarian situation in Syria by Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos; and
• the situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) by Special Representative Babacar Gaye and the work of the 2127 CAR Sanctions Committee by its chair, Ambassador Raimonda Murmokaitė (Lithuania).

Briefings in consultations are likely on:

• the destruction of chemical weapons in Syria by Special Adviser Sigrid Kaag;
• developments in Yemen by Special Adviser Jamal Benomar and the work of the 2140 Yemen Sanctions Committee by its chair, Ambassador Murmokaitė (Lithuania);
• developments with the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) by DPKO;
• Sudan and South Sudan issues and the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei by Special Envoy Haile Menkerios; and
• the work of the 1521 Liberia Sanctions Committee by its chair, Ambassador Dina Kawar (Jordan).

Formal sessions will be needed to adopt resolutions to renew:

• the UN Mission in Liberia and the Liberia sanctions;
• the terms of judges and prosecutors of ICTY and ICTR; and
• UNDOF. 

A public wrap-up session is scheduled for the last work day of the year, 22 December.

Throughout the month Council members will be closely following developments in Mali and Ukraine, as well as events related to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa and further meetings may be required.