Overview
In March, Mozambique will hold the presidency of the Security Council.
Mozambique is expected to organise two signature events this month. One will be an open debate on “Women, Peace and Security: Towards the 25th Anniversary of Resolution 1325”. The meeting will be chaired by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Mozambique, Verónica Nataniel Macamo Dlhovo. High-level representatives from UN Women, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the AU are expected to brief. A civil society representative is also expected to brief.
The second signature event will be a high-level debate on “Countering terrorism and preventing violent extremism conducive to terrorism by strengthening cooperation between the UN and regional organisations and mechanisms”. President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi of Mozambique is expected to chair the meeting.
A briefing on security sector reform is anticipated in the middle of the month with representatives from the UN Secretariat, the AU, and civil society expected to brief.
Ecuador, the chair of the 1540 Committee, is expected to brief on the committee’s work this month. (Adopted in 2004, resolution 1540 aims to prevent non-state actors from obtaining access to weapons of mass destruction.)
A Council visiting mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is scheduled for 9-12 March. There will also be a briefing and consultations on the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO).
Several other African issues are on the programme of work this month, including:
- “Silencing the Guns in Africa”, an open debate on the relationship between this initiative and development;
- South Sudan, meeting on the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and renewal of the UNMISS mandate;
- Sudan, meeting on the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), and briefing by Ghana, the chair of the 1591 Sudan Sanctions Committee; and
- Somalia, meeting on the implementation of the Somalia Transition Plan (STP).
Middle East issues on the programme include:
- Syria, monthly meetings on the political and humanitarian situations and on the chemical weapons track;
- Yemen, monthly meeting on developments;
- “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question”, monthly meeting on developments;
- Lebanon, meeting on the implementation of resolution 1701; and
- Golan, meeting on the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF).
Asian issues that will be addressed in March include:
- Afghanistan, renewal of the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and meeting on the situation in the country;
- Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), extension of the mandate of the Panel of Experts assisting the 1718 DPRK Sanctions Committee; and
- Myanmar, meeting on the Secretary-General’s report on the implementation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Five-Point Consensus.
As in past months, there are likely to be one or more meetings on Ukraine in March.
Other issues could be raised during the month, depending on developments.
