Overview
In December, Niger will hold the presidency of the Security Council.
Niger is expected to convene an open debate on “Security in the context of climate change”. Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum is expected to chair the meeting. Secretary-General António Guterres and Chairperson of the AU Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat are the anticipated briefers.
The annual briefing of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, will also take place in December. The briefing will focus on the situation of refugees in several country-specific cases on the Council’s agenda.
Security Council members are expected to hold consultations on the implementation of resolutions 2532 and 2565, which demanded, respectively, a cessation of hostilities in all situations on the Council’s agenda to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and a humanitarian pause to facilitate the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines in areas of armed conflict.
The Security Council is scheduled to hold its semi-annual debate on the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT). The IRMCT’s president, Judge Carmel Agius, and its prosecutor, Serge Brammertz, are expected to brief during the debate and to meet with the Informal Working Group on International Tribunals prior to that.
The outgoing chairs of the Security Council’s subsidiary bodies are expected to brief the Council in December to share their experiences in facilitating the work of those subsidiary bodies.
The Council is also scheduled to receive its annual briefing from the chairs of its counter-terrorism committees: the 1267/1989/2253 Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) and Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee; the 1373 Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC); and the 1540 Committee. The Council is also expected to adopt resolutions renewing the mandates of the:
- Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED); and
- 1267/1988 Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team (Monitoring Team) and the Office of the Ombudsperson.
African issues on the programme of work in December are:
- Somalia, resolutions renewing counter-piracy measures off the coast of Somalia and reauthorising the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) respectively;
- DRC, briefing and consultations on the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) and renewal of the mission’s mandate;
- Sudan, briefing and consultations on the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) and briefing on the work of the 1591 Sanctions Committee;
- South Sudan, briefing and consultations on the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS); and
- Central Africa, briefing and consultations on the activities of the UN Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA).
The Council will 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 include:
- Golan Heights, consultations on the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) and the adoption of a resolution renewing UNDOF’s mandate;
- Yemen, the monthly briefing and consultations on developments;
- “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question”, the monthly meeting; and
- Iran, briefing on the Secretary-General’s report on the implementation of resolution 2231 of 20 July 2015, which endorsed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran’s nuclear programme.
The Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council are expected to hold the 6th Joint Informal Seminar and the 15th Joint Annual Consultative Meeting on 16-17 December. The meeting was scheduled to be held in Addis Ababa this year. However, at the time of writing, consultations are still ongoing among members of the UN Security Council on the format and location of the meeting, given recent developments in Ethiopia.
