Overview
In November, the UK holds the presidency of the Security Council.
The UK plans to organise two signature events during the month. The first will be a briefing on the Middle East, which will be convened in addition to the monthly meeting on “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question”. UK Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy is expected to chair the meeting. A senior UN official is expected to brief. Additional meetings on the Middle East may be convened depending on developments in Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), and the wider region.
The second signature event is expected to be a briefing under the agenda item “Maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine”. Lammy is expected to chair the meeting, at which Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo is scheduled to brief. There are likely to be additional meetings on Ukraine during the month.
In November, the UK will convene a briefing on Sudan. The UK’s Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Africa, Lord Collins of Highbury, is expected to chair the meeting. The anticipated briefers are DiCarlo, an official from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), and a civil society representative.
Other African issues on the programme of work in November are:
- Libya, the semi-annual briefing by the ICC Prosecutor concerning the court’s work in the country;
- Sudan/South Sudan, briefing and consultations and mandate renewal of the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA);
- South Sudan, briefing and consultations on the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS); and
- Central African Republic, renewal of the mandate of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA).
Middle Eastern issues on the programme include:
- Syria, monthly meeting on political and humanitarian developments;
- Yemen, monthly meeting on developments, briefing by the chair of the 2140 Yemen Sanctions Committee, and renewal of the 2140 Yemen sanctions regime and the mandate of the Panel of Experts assisting the 2140 Yemen Sanctions Committee; and
- Lebanon, consultations on the implementation of resolution 1701, which was adopted in 2006 and called for a cessation of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel.
Regarding European issues, the Council is scheduled to hold its semi-annual debate on Bosnia and Herzegovina and to reauthorise the EU-led multinational stabilisation force (EUFOR ALTHEA).
On Asian issues, consultations are scheduled on the work of the 1718 Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) Sanctions Committee, which focuses on non-proliferation issues, are scheduled for late in the month.
Thematic issues will also be discussed during the month. The Council is expected to receive a briefing from the chairs of the three counter-terrorism-related 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, which aims to prevent non-state actors from obtaining access to weapons of mass destruction.
The Security Council will also hold an open briefing under the “Protection of civilians in armed conflict” agenda item on the Secretary-General’s recommendations on measures to prevent and respond to attacks against humanitarian and UN personnel, which the Council requested through resolution 2730 of 24 May.
The 15 current Council members and the incoming five (Denmark, Greece, Pakistan, Panama, and Somalia) will participate in the annual “Hitting the Ground Running” workshop organised by Finland on 21 and 22 November.
Other issues could be raised in November depending on developments.
