Status Update since our June Forecast
Security Council Elections 2025
On 3 June, the General Assembly held elections for Security Council membership for the 2026-2027 term. Bahrain, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Latvia, and Liberia were elected for the five available seats.
Ukraine
On 4 June, Russia convened an Arria-formula meeting on Ukraine titled “Understanding and Resolving the Ideological Roots of the Ukrainian Crisis”. The briefers were: Edouard Popov, Director of the Center for Public Cooperation and Information “Europe”; Natalya Seluykina, Executive Director of the Historical Memory Foundation; and Maxim Vilkov, coordinator of the Information Group on Crimes against the Person.
On 20 June, the Security Council held an open briefing on Ukraine (S/PV.9940). The meeting was requested by Ukraine in a 17 June letter following large-scale Russian aerial attacks on Kyiv and other cities across Ukraine on that day. Council members Denmark, France, Greece, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Slovenia, and the UK supported the meeting request. Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas Miroslav Jenča and Director of the Operations and Advocacy Division at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Edem Wosornu briefed. Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Norway and Ukraine participated under rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure.
UNOCA (Central Africa)
On 9 June, the Security Council held a briefing (S/PV.9931) and consultations on the Secretary-General’s semi-annual report on the UN Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA) and the implementation of the UN’s regional strategy to combat the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) (S/2025/342). The briefers were Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Central Africa and Head of UNOCA Abdou Abarry and President of the Commission of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) Gilberto da Piedade Veríssimo.
Iraq
On 10 June, the Security Council held an open briefing, followed by closed consultations, on the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) (S/PV.9933). Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNAMI Mohamed Al Hassan briefed the Council on the Secretary-General’s latest reports on UNAMI (S/2025/323) and the issue of missing Kuwaiti and third-party nationals and missing Kuwaiti property (S/2025/320). Iraq and Kuwait participated in the meeting under rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure.
International Criminal Tribunals
On 11 June, the Council held its semi-annual debate on the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) (S/PV.9934). The IRMCT’s president, Judge Graciela Gatti Santana, and its Chief Prosecutor, Serge Brammertz, briefed during the debate and met with the Informal Working Group on International Tribunals on 10 June.
UNDOF (Golan)
Council members held consultations on the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) on 12 June. Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific Khaled Khiari briefed. On 30 June, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2782, renewing the mandate of UNDOF for six months, until 31 December 2025.
Iran
On 13 June, the Security Council held an emergency open briefing followed by closed consultations on Israel’s military offensive against Iran (S/PV.9936). The meeting, which was held under the “Threats to international peace and security” agenda item, was requested by Iran in a letter sent to the Security Council earlier that day (S/2025/379). China and Russia supported the meeting request. Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi briefed the Council. Iran, Iraq, Israel, and Kuwait participated under rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure.
On 20 June, the Council held another emergency briefing on the hostilities between Iran and Israel (S/PV.9939). This meeting was also held under the “Threats to international peace and security” agenda item and was requested by Iran in a letter dated 18 June (S/2025/391). Algeria, China, Pakistan, and Russia supported the meeting request. DiCarlo and Grossi briefed the Council. Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Türkiye, and Venezuela participated under rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure.
On 22 June, the Council held a third emergency briefing on the situation in Iran, following US strikes against three Iranian nuclear facilities earlier that day (S/PV.9941). Like the prior two meetings, this briefing was also held under the “Threats to international peace and security” agenda item. It was requested by Iran in a letter dated 22 June (S/2025/405) and supported by Russia. The Council was briefed by Secretary-General António Guterres, Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas Miroslav Jenča, and Grossi. Iraq, Iran, Israel, and Kuwait participated in the meeting under rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure.
On 24 June, the Council convened for its biannual briefing on the implementation of resolution 2231 of 20 July 2015, which endorsed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran’s nuclear programme (S/PV.9944). DiCarlo briefed Council members on the nineteenth report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of resolution 2231 (S/2025/397). Members were also briefed by the Council’s facilitator for the implementation of resolution 2231, Ambassador Samuel Žbogar (Slovenia), and the Head of the European Union (EU) delegation to the UN, Ambassador Stavros Lambrinidis, in his capacity as coordinator of the JCPOA’s Joint Commission. Germany, Iran, and Israel participated under rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure.
Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict
On 16 June, Council members held closed consultations under the “Protection of civilians in armed conflict” agenda item. Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Joyce Msuya briefed members on food insecurity in Gaza, following the circulation of a 2 June white note on the issue by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The meeting was requested by Guyana and Slovenia—the Council’s co-focal points on conflict and hunger—together with Algeria. Pakistan and Somalia supported the request.
Sudan
On 16 June, Security Council members held closed consultations on Sudan. Denmark, Slovenia, and the UK (the penholder on the file) requested the meeting to receive an update on the humanitarian situation in the country. Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Joyce Msuya briefed.
On 27 June, the Security Council held an open briefing (S/PV.9947), followed by closed consultations, on Sudan. Assistant Secretary-General for Africa in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations (DPPA-DPO) Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee and Shayna Lewis, Senior Advisor and Sudan Specialist at Preventing and Ending Mass Atrocities, briefed in the open session. Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Sudan Ramtane Lamamra briefed during the closed consultations. Sudan, Egypt, and the United Aran Emirates participated in the open session under rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure.
Poverty, Underdevelopment, and Conflict
On 19 June and 23 June, the Security Council held an open debate on “Poverty, Underdevelopment, and Conflict: Implications for the Maintenance of International Peace and Security” (S/PV.9938 and Resumption I and II). The briefers were: UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Assistant Secretary-General and Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific at the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Kanni Wignaraja, and African Union (AU) Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf. Guyana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hugh Hilton Todd, chaired the meeting.
Afghanistan
On 23 June, the Security Council convened for an open briefing on Afghanistan (S/PV.9942). Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) Roza Otunbayeva, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Joyce Msuya, and UN Women Executive Director Sima Sami Bahous briefed. Afghanistan, India, Iran and Qatar participated in the meeting under rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure. Closed consultations followed the open briefing.
Libya
On 24 June, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Hanna Serwaa Tetteh, briefed the Security Council on the situation in Libya (S/PV.9943). Closed consultations followed the open briefing.
Myanmar
On 24 June, Security Council members discussed Myanmar under the “any other business” portion of closed consultations, focusing on possible Council action on the file, including a draft presidential statement that had been circulated by the UK earlier in the month.
Children and Armed Conflict
On 25 June, the Security Council held its annual open debate on children and armed conflict (S/PV.9945 and Resumption I and II). Vindhya Persaud, Guyana’s Minister of Human Services and Social Security, chaired the meeting. Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict Virginia Gamba briefed on the Secretary-General’s annual report on children and armed conflict, dated 17 June (S/2025/247). The Council was also briefed by Director of Child Protection and Migration at UNICEF Sheema SenGupta, and a child civil society representative from Syria.
Ahead of the open debate, 12 Council members—Algeria, China, Denmark, France, Greece, Guyana, Pakistan, Panama, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Sierra Leone, Slovenia, and the UK—held a joint stakeout at which Guyana read a joint statement that it had initiated. This was the first such joint informal statement by a group of Council members on the children and armed conflict agenda. Russia, Somalia, and the US did not join the statement.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
On 27 June, the Security Council held a briefing and consultations on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) (S/PV.9948). Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the DRC and Head of MONUSCO Bintou Keita briefed based on the Secretary-General’s latest report on the situation in the DRC and the work of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) (S/2025/403). The chair of the 1533 DRC Sanctions Committee, Ambassador Michael Imran Kanu (Sierra Leone), also briefed on the work of the committee. DRC and Rwanda participated in the meeting under rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure.
On 30 June, the Council adopted resolution 2783 extending the 1533 DRC sanctions regime until 1 July 2026, and the mandate of the Group of Experts assisting the 1533 DRC Sanctions Committee until 1 August 2026.
