What's In Blue
Latest post: Fri 4 Dec 2020Insights on the work of the UN Security Council
Burundi: Presidential Statement
Today (4 December) the Security Council will adopt a presidential statement on Burundi which calls on the government of Burundi to cooperate with the UN to address a number of challenges that the country faces, while also requesting the Secretary-General to cease providing periodic reporting on the situation in Burundi and instead cover the country in the context of his regular reporting on Central Africa and the Great Lakes region. France, as the penholder on Burundi, circulated a draft text on 27 November. A round of informal negotiations was held on 1 December. France circulated an updated version of the draft yesterday (3 December). The draft passed silence this morning.
While it appears that there was broad agreement amongst Council members to end the Secretary-General’s periodic reporting on Burundi, reaching consensus on the draft text required compromise. There were differences in how prominently different Council members wanted to refer to Burundi’s many challenges on, for example, human rights, the rule of law and fundamental freedoms. The draft text recognises gains in these areas, but “stresses important work ahead”, while also raising “continued concern” about human rights violations and abuses.
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Tomorrow (4 December), the Security Council will hold a high-level videoconference (VTC) debate on cooperation between the UN and regional and subregional organisations, focusing on the AU. The president of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa (who also heads the AU in...
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In keeping with the voting procedures established during the Covid-19 crisis, the Security Council commenced the 24-hour written voting procedure today on a draft resolution renewing the counter-piracy measures off the coast of Somalia that expire on 4 December. South...
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Tomorrow morning (3 December), the Security Council is expected to hold a ministerial-level debate on “Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace: Security Sector Governance and Reform (SSG/R)” at the initiative of South Africa. South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Naledi...
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On Thursday afternoon (3 December), Security Council members will participate in a virtual Arria-formula meeting with the Group of Eminent International and Regional Experts (GEE), established by the Human Rights Council (HRC) in September 2017 to report on the human...
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South Africa is the president of the Security Council in December. Council members adopted the provisional programme of work earlier today. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, much of the Council’s work is expected to continue to take place virtually this month....
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Tomorrow (25 November), Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock and Deputy Special Envoy Khawla Matar are expected to brief the Security Council on the humanitarian and political situations in Syria, respectively, in an open videoconference (VTC). A closed VTC is...
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Tomorrow afternoon (25 November) Council members will participate in a virtual Arria-formula meeting organised by China, Niger, Russia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and South Africa on the issue of Unilateral Coercive Measures (UCMs). In addition to the members of...
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Tomorrow (24 November), Council members will participate in a virtual Arria-formula meeting, organised by Russia, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the General Framework Agreement for Peace (GFAP) in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The meeting is expected to begin at...
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On Monday (23 November), Security Council members are scheduled to receive the annual briefing (via videoconference) from the chairs of its counter-terrorism-related committees: Ambassador Dian Triansyah Djani (Indonesia), chair of the 1267/1989/2253 Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)...
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Tomorrow (20 November) a high-level Arria-formula meeting will be held via videoconference on: “What can the Security Council do to support the peace process in Afghanistan?”. It is being co-organised by Security Council members Estonia, Germany and Indonesia, together with...
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Tomorrow (18 November) Security Council members will hold a videoconference (VTC) briefing, followed by VTC consultations, on “The Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question”. Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov is the anticipated...
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Tuesday morning (17 November), Ambassador José Singer Weisinger (Dominican Republic) will brief the Council in his capacity as chair of the Mali 2374 Sanctions Committee. This is the annual briefing by the chair on the work of the committee. Few...
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Tomorrow (12 November), the Security Council is set to adopt a resolution renewing the mandate of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), and the authorisation for French forces in the Central African Republic (CAR)...
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The 18th annual workshop for incoming members of the UN Security Council, titled “Hitting the Ground Running”, will be held on 12 and 13 November in New York City. The government of Finland is convening the workshop, in cooperation with Security...
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Tomorrow (12 November), the Security Council is expected to adopt a resolution renewing the mandate of the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) until 15 May 2021. An initial draft was circulated to Council members by the US, the penholder on UNISFA, on 2 November....
