Chairs of Subsidiary Bodies and Penholders for 2015
Every year, the Security Council revisits its allocation of chairmanships of its subsidiary bodies, a task entrusted to elected Council members. Following deliberations between the P5, and the designation of a P5 coordinator, the coordinator holds separate consultations with the elected members. Decisions regarding the 2015 distribution were coordinated by the US.
As this chart illustrates, there is scant correlation between the “penholders” for situation-specific agenda items and the chairs of the relevant subsidiary bodies. In most, though not all, cases penholders are permanent members. As the penholders take the lead in drafting Council decisions, they normally “trump” chairs notwithstanding the chairs’ formal title and mandate. The table below lists those agenda items which have a designated penholder.
The table is also available in PDF, please click here.
Situation-specific or thematic matter | Pen-holder in the Council | Chair of the Relevant Council Subsidiary Body |
Afghanistan | Spain | New Zealand, 1988 Taliban Sanctions Committee |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | Chair of the rotating Contact and Drafting Group | N/A |
Burundi | France | N/A |
Central Africa Region | France | N/A |
Central African Republic | France | Lithuania, 2127 CAR Sanctions Committee |
Cote d’Ivoire | France | Chile, 1572 Côte d’Ivoire Sanctions Committee |
Counterterrorism (1267 and 1989) | US | New Zealand, 1267/1989 Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee |
Cyprus | UK | N/A |
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) | France | Jordan; 1533 DRC Sanctions Committee |
DPRK (Non-proliferation) | US | Spain, 1718 DPRK Sanctions Committee |
Great Lakes Region | France | N/A |
Guinea-Bissau | Nigeria | Nigeria, 2048 Guinea-Bissau Committee |
Haiti | US | N/A |
ICTR | Chile | Chile, International Tribunals Informal Working Group |
ICTY | Chile | Chile, International Tribunals Informal Working Group |
Iran (Non-Proliferation) | US | Spain, 1737 Iran Sanctions Committee |
Iraq | US on Iraq; UK on Iraq/Kuwait | Nigeria, 1518 Iraq Sanctions Committee |
Kosovo | Chair of the rotating Contact and Drafting Group | N/A |
Liberia | US | Jordan, 1521 Liberia Sanctions Committee |
Libya | UK | Malaysia, 1970 Libya Sanctions Committee |
Mali/Sahel | France on Mali; Chad on Sahel | N/A |
Middle East | France on Syria; Jordan on Syria humanitarian issues; Russia and US on UNDOF (Golan Heights); France on UNIFIL (Lebanon); UK on Yemen | Chad, 1636 Lebanon Sanctions Committee |
Middle East, including the Palestine Question | US, however Jordan also puts forward texts on behalf of the Arab Group | N/A |
Sierra Leone | UK | N/A |
Somalia | UK; US on piracy | Venezuela, 751/1907 Somalia-Eritrea Sanctions Committee |
Sudan and South Sudan | UK on Darfur; US on South Sudan; US on Sudan/South Sudan | Venezuela, 1591 Sudan Sanctions Committee |
Timor-Leste | N/A | N/A |
Ukraine | There is no clear pen-holder for Ukraine, but both Russia and the US have drafted texts while Lithuania and the UK have been active in calling for meetings on the issue. | N/A |
Yemen | UK | Lithuania, 2140 Yemen Sanctions Committee |
West Africa | Nigeria | N/A |
Western Sahara | US | N/A |
Children and Armed Conflict | Malaysia | Malaysia, Children and Armed Conflict Working Group |
Counterterrorism (1373) | US | Lithuania, 1373 Counterterrorism Committee |
Counterterrorism (1566) | US | Lithuania, 1566 Working Group |
Non-proliferation of WMD | Spain | Spain, 1540 WMD Committee |
Peace and Security in Africa | Angola | Angola, Conflict Prevention and Resolution in Africa Ad Hoc Working Group |
Peacekeeping Operations | UK | Chad, Peacekeeping Operations Working Group |
Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict | UK | UK, Protection of Civilians Informal Expert Group |
Women and Peace and Security | UK on 1325 women’s participation and protection; US on 1820 sexual violence in conflict | N/A |
Working Methods | Angola | Angola, Informal Working Group on Documentation and Other Procedural Questions |
N.A.= Not Applicable