Overview

Chile will hold the presidency of the Council in January.

Three open debates are planned. President Michelle Bachelet of Chile will preside over a ministerial-level open debate on inclusive development for the maintenance of international peace and security, while Ambassador Antonio de Aguiar Patriota, the chair of the Peacebuilding Commission, and a high-level representative from UN Women are expected to brief. The periodic open debate on the protection of civilians in armed conflict will likely include briefings by representatives of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and UN Women. The quarterly open debate on the Middle East will likely be presided over by Chile’s Foreign Minister Heraldo Muñoz, with Jeffrey Feltman, the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, expected to brief.

A briefing is expected on post-conflict peacebuilding, most likely by Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson and Patriota;

Briefings, followed by consultations, are expected on:

• the work of MINUSMA in Mali by Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hervé Ladsous;
• developments in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, by Ladsous;
• the work of  the 1533 DRC Sanctions Committee, by its chair, Ambassador Dina Kawar (Jordan);
• developments in Somalia by Nicholas Kay, the Special Representative and head of UNSOM;
• developments in Côte d’Ivoire by Aïchatou Mindaoudou, the Special Representative and head of UNOCI;
• the humanitarian situation in Syria, most likely by Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Kyung-wha Kang; and
• the situation in West Africa and the work of UNOWA by Special Representative Mohamed Ibn Chambas.

Briefings in consultations are likely on:

• chemical weapons destruction in Syria, by High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Angela Kane;
• the developments in Cyprus by Lisa Buttenheim, Special Representative and head of UNFICYP, and possibly also by Special Adviser Espen Barth Eide; and
• the work of the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia by its head, Miroslav Jenča.

Formal sessions will be needed to adopt resolutions to renew:

• the Central African Republic sanctions and the mandate of the Panel of Experts assisting the 2127 CAR Sanctions Committee;
• the DRC sanctions and the mandate of the Group of Experts assisting the 1533 DRC Sanctions Committee; and
• the mandate of UNFICYP in Cyprus.

Votes (in formal sessions) are also possible on:

• a resolution calling for an end to the Israeli occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territories by 2017; and
• a resolution to authorise a regional response to the Boko Haram terrorist threat in West Africa.

Meetings may also be held on Burundi following the closure at the end of the year of the mission there and on the report of the Commission of Inquiry on CAR, mandated by the Council resolution 2127.

Throughout the month members will be following closely developments in Ukraine and further meetings may be required.

The Council is also likely to undertake a visiting mission to Haiti in January.