Overview
In February, Malta will hold the presidency of the Security Council.
Malta is expected to organise two signature events. One of these is a ministerial-level open debate on sea-level rise and its implications for international peace and security. Malta’s Minister for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade Ian Borg is expected to chair the meeting. Secretary-General António Guterres and Ambassador Csaba Körösi (Hungary), the President of the UN General Assembly, are among the briefers.
There will also be a briefing on children and armed conflict that will focus on the prevention of violations against children. Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict Virginia Gamba is expected to brief. The Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children, Dr. Najat Maalla M’jid, and a civil society representative may also brief.
Aside from these two signature events, Malta will convene a meeting on EU-UN cooperation. Borg is expected to chair the meeting. The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell is the anticipated briefer.
To mark the one-year anniversary of the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Malta intends to convene a debate on 24 February. Borg is expected to chair the meeting.
Middle East issues on the programme include:
- Syria, monthly meetings on the political and humanitarian situation and on the chemical weapons track;
- Yemen, renewal of financial and travel ban sanctions, the monthly meeting on developments, and a briefing by the chair of the 2140 Yemen Sanctions Committee;
- “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question”, the monthly meeting on developments; and
- Iraq, meeting on the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) and the issue of missing Kuwaiti and third-party nationals and missing Kuwaiti property.
African issues on the programme of work in February are:
- Somalia, meeting on the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) and briefing by the chair of the 751 Al-Shabaab Sanctions Committee;
- Libya, meeting on the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL);
- Central African Republic, meeting on the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA); and
- Sudan, renewal of the mandate of the Panel of Experts assisting the 1591 Sudan Sanctions Committee.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is the one Asian issue expected to be on the programme, as the chair of the 1718 DPRK Sanctions Committee is expected to brief Council members in February.
The Council is also expected to hold a briefing on the Secretary-General’s biannual strategic-level report on the threat posed by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as Da’esh).
Malta has signed on to the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) commitments and intends to highlight this issue during its presidency.
Other issues could be raised in February depending on developments.
