Update Reports
Supplementary reports issued throughout the month on emerging or developing situations being addressed by the Security Council.
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On 28 February, the Republic of Korea will hold a “wrap-up session” of its February Council presidency. The meeting will be held under the agenda item “Implementation of Note S/2010/507 (Wrap-up Session)” as a private meeting at which non-Council members will be invited to attend if they express their interest.
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On 7 May, the Council will hold consultations on the Secretary-General's report on Guinea-Bissau of 30 April (S/2012/280), submitted in line with a presidential statement (S/PRST/2012/15) adopted on 21 April. The Council will likely be briefed by Joseph Mutaboba, the Secretary-General's Special Representative in Guinea-Bissau and head of the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS); a representative of Guinea-Bissau's ousted government; and representatives of the AU, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP).
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The Security Council on 3 January 2012 agreed to elect the following chairpersons of Council committees, sanctions committees and working groups...
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On Monday, 26 September, it is expected that the Council will meet in consultations at 3pm on the issue of Palestine's application for UN membership. However, at time of writing it remained unclear if or when the Security Council might vote on such an application.
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A high-level meeting of the Council focusing on how to strengthen and consolidate preventive diplomacy is scheduled for 22 September. President Michel Suleiman of Lebanon, which holds the Council presidency this month, will preside. The Secretary-General is expected to brief the Council and is likely to focus on his recent report on preventive diplomacy. It appears that several heads of state and other high level officials will participate.
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On Wednesday 10 August the Council expects to be briefed by Augustine Mahiga, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Somalia. Mahiga is likely to cover progress on the implementation of the June Kampala Accord, preparations for the repeatedly postponed consultative meeting of Somali stakeholders (now scheduled in Mogadishu for 4-6 September) and the impact and implications of famine. Mahiga will brief by videoconference, in order to avoid leaving the region during this challenging period. The briefing is likely to be followed by consultations. At this time no Council decision is expected.
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On Tuesday, 26 July the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Robert Serry, will brief the Council. The Council will then hold its regular quarterly open debate on the Middle East. The stalemated Israel/Palestine peace process is expected to be the focus of discussion against the backdrop of the failure of the Quartet, again, at its 11 July meeting in Washington DC to reach an agreement and heightened expectations of developments in the General Assembly in September. At press time, it seemed likely that Serry would report that negotiations were still to materialise and that no other credible initiatives were on the horizon.
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On 21 June the UK circulated a draft presidential statement on Somalia to Council members. It appears the statement would welcome the signing of the Kampala Accord on 9 June, call on the parties to continue working together to ensure its implementation and complete transitional tasks and emphasise the importance of the upcoming consultative meeting in Mogadishu. The statement is expected to be adopted this Friday, 24 June.
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Council members have been individually assessing events in Sudan—the military takeover of Abyei and the deteriorating situation in Southern Kordofan—almost on a day-to-day basis, but Council members have not formally met on Sudan since 3 June and most of the scheduled informal discussions have been repeatedly postponed. A presidential statement was adopted on 3 June and the Council intended to receive follow-up briefings on progress of talks in Addis Ababa between Khartoum and Juba on a security arrangement for Abyei. But follow-up has been deferred.
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The Security Council has scheduled a briefing on 21 June by the head of the new Addis Ababa-based UN Office to the AU, Zachary Muburi-Muita. The office was established in 2010 and is currently close to becoming fully operational. No outcome is expected from this meeting.
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On Monday 6 June the Council is expecting a briefing on the visit to Africa which Council members took from 19 to 26 May. The trip consisted of the following segments, and their respective leaders or co-leaders will be the briefers: AU headquarters in Addis Ababa (led by Council President Ambassador Gerard Araud of France); Sudan (co-led by Ambassador Vitaly Churkin of Russia and Ambassador Susan Rice of the US) and a Somalia-focused visit to Nairobi (co-led by Ambassador Baso Sangqu of South Africa and Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant of the UK).
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On 25 May France, Germany, Portugal and the UK circulated to Security Council members a draft resolution condemning the government crackdown in Syria. At press time it was unclear when the draft might be put to a vote. Discussions at the G8 summit in France today and tomorrow could be significant in this regard. The initiative to take action on the violence by Syria against its citizens has been gaining ground over the last month. But there have been divisions in the Council.
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On Tuesday 10 May the Council is scheduled to hold an open debate on protection of civilians in armed conflict. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Alain Le Roy and Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ivan Simonovic are expected to speak.
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With the immediate security crisis in Côte d’Ivoire now less pressing there is a growing sense that the Council and the wider UN need to be active to ensure that Côte d’Ivoire does not disappear from focus.
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B. Lynn Pascoe, Under Secretary-General for Political Affairs, will brief the Council on 21 April. The Council will then hold an open debate on the Middle East.