Overview
In September, Ireland will have the presidency of the Security Council. All meetings are expected to be in person this month.
Ireland has chosen to convene three signature events during its presidency.
One will be a ministerial-level open debate on peacekeeping transitions. The Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defense, Simon Coveney, will chair the meeting. UN Secretary-General António Guterres, former President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and a civil society representative are the anticipated briefers. Ireland intends to pursue a resolution on peacekeeping transitions as a possible outcome of the meeting.
An open debate on climate change and security is the second signature event planned by Ireland in September. Secretary-General Guterres and a civil society representative are expected to brief.
Finally, a briefing on the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction will be held to mark the 25th anniversary of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).
A briefing by The Elders on the maintenance of international peace and security will also be convened this month. Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and Chair of The Elders, and Lakhdar Brahimi, former UN Special Envoy and Elder Emeritus, are expected to brief the Council.
The Council will meet this month for the quarterly debate on the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the renewal of the UNAMA mandate.
The Council is expected to hold its monthly meetings on the political and humanitarian situations and on the use of chemical weapons in Syria. Other Middle East issues on the programme of work this month are expected to be:
- Yemen, the monthly meeting on developments;
- Iraq, a mandate renewal of the Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh/ISIL (UNITAD); and
- “The Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question”, the monthly meeting.
African issues that the Council expects to address in September are:
- Libya, meetings on the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and the 1970 Sanctions Committee, as well as the renewal of the UNSMIL mandate;
- Sudan, a meeting on the Secretary-General’s report on the implementation of the mandate of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) and a briefing by the chair of the 1591 Sanctions Committee; and
- South Sudan, a meeting on the Secretary-General’s report on the implementation of the mandate of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
Council members are negotiating a draft resolution proposed by Niger and Norway on the protection of education in conflict that could be adopted during the month.
The Council will continue to follow developments in Ethiopia (Tigray), Haiti and Myanmar closely during the month. Meetings on these and other issues are possible.
