Security Council Working Methods
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Tomorrow (1 July) the Security Council is expected to adopt a resolution supporting the Secretary-General’s appeal for a global ceasefire to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. The draft resolution expresses “grave concern about the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic across...
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It has not been business as usual for the Security Council in the first six months of 2020. Since mid-March, the suspension of in-person Council meetings has required unexpected decisions and drastic changes. The restrictions on conducting its business in the Council chamber have pushed the body to find new ways to carry...
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France holds the presidency of the Security Council in June. In light of the UN Headquarters’ anticipated partial closure extending to the end of June, the Council is expected to continue using the provisional measures agreed on at the end of March, as adapted in April...
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Mr. President, Excellencies, Good morning. I appreciate this opportunity to address the Security Council on behalf of Security Council Report and would like to acknowledge the work of Ambassador King and of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in taking forward...
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Tomorrow, 15 May, the Security Council will hold an open video teleconference (VTC) in lieu of its annual open debate on working methods. The meeting is being conducted under the agenda item “Implementation of the note by the President of...
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For nearly two weeks following its last pre-COVID-19 formal meeting on 12 March, the Security Council became invisible and—in the eyes of the general public and fellow UN members—appeared to be idle. A new programme of work was posted on the Council’s website on 16 March, with that week’s meetings cancelled but retaining those for the weeks of 23 and 30 March. The subsequent versions of the programme of work listed fewer and fewer meetings, and the last one, posted on 27 March, showed no meetings between 12 and 31 March.
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During its presidency in May, Estonia has decided to organise a virtual open debate on the Council’s working methods. Estonia, the vice-chair of the Informal Working Group on Documentation and Other Procedural Questions (IWG), will prepare a concept note for the debate jointly with the chair, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Because the special measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic will still be in effect at the time of the debate, statements by non-Council members are likely to be submitted in writing.
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The Dominican Republic is president of the Security Council in April. Earlier today, Council members agreed an “Informal Plan of VTC” for the month. Due to the impact of COVID-19 on the Council’s working methods, members will continue to hold...
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On Friday (March 27), the Security Council agreed to procedures for its meetings and adoptions, created to address the current difficulty of meeting physically due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The new measures were set out in a...
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In the upcoming period, several Security Council mandates will expire. These include the mandates of the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia and of the Panel of Experts assisting the 1718 Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, expiring on 31 March and...
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China has the presidency of the Security Council in March. It has chosen to hold three discretionary events this month. The first will be a debate in early March on “Countering terrorism and extremism in Africa” featuring briefings by Chef...
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Among the Security Council’s ten elected members, the three African states—currently Niger, South Africa and Tunisia—constitute a group with some unique features that translate into how these countries work within the Council. They come from the continent whose conflicts have occupied between half to three-quarters of the Council’s time during each of the past 25 years, and that hosts most of the Council’s mandated peace operations. The three states from the continent have also (with the exception of Morocco until 2017) all been members of the same regional organisation, the African Union (AU), and prior to that, its predecessor, the Organization of African Unity (OAU).
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Belgium holds the presidency of the Security Council for February. It has decided to convene an open debate on “Peacebuilding and sustaining peace: Transitional justice in conflict and post-conflict situations” as one of the signature events of its presidency. High...
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In 2019, geopolitical tensions continued to be reflected in Council action. Difficult and protracted negotiations were the norm, with pushback on previously agreed language from past resolutions.
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The tables below reflect the Security Council penholders and chairs of subsidiary bodies as of January 2020. The tables do not cover all the agenda items of which the Council is currently seized but focus on items with regular outcomes or those for which a subsidiary body has been established. For the full names of agenda items, please refer to the summary statement by the Secretary-General of matters of which the Security Council is seized (S/2020/10) issued on 2 January. The list of chairs of subsidiary bodies is contained in a note by the Council president (S/2020/2), also of 2 January.
