Security Council Working Methods
-
Brazil is the president of the Security Council in October. Council members adopted the provisional programme of work for the month earlier today (2 October). In the two preceding months, the Council had been unable to agree on its provisional...
-
The Secretary-General’s New Agenda for Peace calls for strong partnerships between the UN and regional frameworks as part of “networked multilateralism”. Current geopolitical shifts make it imperative to reflect on how such partnerships should function—how the Security Council and regional organisations relate to each other in the maintenance of international peace and security. This is especially important in assessing how and when the Council must be involved with regional arrangements, including peace and enforcement operations. The Council itself has a mixed record in interpreting the provisions of the UN Charter, however.
-
Tomorrow morning (5 September), the Security Council will hold its annual open debate on its working methods. The meeting will be conducted under the agenda item “Implementation of the note by the President of the Security Council (S/2017/507)”, referring to...
-
Albania is the president of the Security Council in September. Council members were unable to reach agreement on the provisional programme of work for the month, due to Russia’s apparent objection to the inclusion of Ukraine on the programme. Instead,...
-
Introduction In July 2023, UN Secretary-General António Guterres released A New Agenda for Peace. It is one of 11 policy briefs connected to his 2021 report, Our Common Agenda, reflecting his vision for the future of multilateralism and intended to...
-
In September, the Council will hold its annual working methods open debate. Ambassador Ferit Hoxha (Albania), the chair of the Informal Working Group on Documentation and Other Procedural Questions, will brief.
-
The United States is the president of the Security Council in August. In an unusual but not unprecedented development, Council members were unable to reach agreement on the provisional programme of work for the month, due to Russia’s objections primarily...
-
The UK is the president of the Security Council in July. Council members adopted the provisional programme of work for the month earlier today (3 July). The UK has chosen to organise three signature events this month. It will convene...
-
With the Security Council elections behind them, incoming Council members—Algeria, Guyana, the Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, and Slovenia—are now starting to discuss the allocation of the chairs and vice-chairs of the subsidiary bodies. For many years this process was shrouded in secrecy, with the permanent members deciding how to allocate these positions, often with minimal consultation.
-
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the president of the Security Council in June. Council members adopted the provisional programme of work for the month earlier today (1 June). The UAE has chosen to organise three signature events. The first...
-
The 77th session of the UN General Assembly is scheduled to hold elections on 6 June for five non-permanent seats of the Security Council for the 2024-2025 term.
-
Next Tuesday (30 May), the Security Council is expected to adopt its annual report to the General Assembly, covering the period from 1 January to 31 December 2022. The adoption was initially scheduled for the afternoon of 24 May but...
-
Security Council Report’s report of 2 May, Security Council Working Methods in Hard Times, analyses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine crisis on the Council’s working methods and on its transparency, effectiveness, and accountability. These events affected many aspects of life in the Council: how it meets, how it votes, whom it invites to participate in its meetings, and whom it hears from. They presented elected Council members with challenges but also opportunities to make a difference in the work of the Council. The report also covers the work of key groupings that helped shape the Council’s working methods during this period, including the Security Council’s Informal Working Group on Documentation and Other Procedural Questions (IWG) and the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency Group (ACT).
-
Switzerland is the president of the Security Council in May. Council members adopted the provisional programme of work for the month earlier today (1 May). As one of the signature events of its presidency, Switzerland will organise an open debate...
-
In the space of about three years, the Council has grappled with two major crises—the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine—that could have threatened its ability to function. Yet, except for a brief moment at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Council continued to operate, adapting its working methods to new realities. These twin crises have both changed and challenged how the Council exercises its role, illuminating the role of working methods as the Council’s foundation for functioning in hard times.
