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Latest post: Sun 12 Jan 2025Insights on the work of the UN Security Council
Arria-formula Meeting on Ukraine
Tomorrow afternoon (13 January), there will be an Arria-formula meeting titled “Violations of international humanitarian law against Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian detainees”. The meeting is being organised by the UK, with co-sponsorship from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, and the US.
The anticipated briefers include Pablo de Greiff, a member of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI) on Ukraine; Valerii Horishnii, a former prisoner of war (POW), senior sergeant, and instructor at Ukraine’s National Guard, who fought in the 2022 battle of Mariupol and spent two years in Russian captivity; Nariman Dzhelyal, a Crimean Tatar journalist and activist who was sentenced in September 2022 to 17 years in prison by the Russian-controlled “Supreme Court of Crimea” in connection with an alleged gas pipeline sabotage case and was subsequently returned to Ukraine in June 2024; and Maksym Butkevych, a Ukrainian human rights defender, journalist, civic activist, and military serviceman, who was held in Russian captivity for over two years and, in March 2023, was sentenced to 13 years in a penal colony. He was returned to Ukraine in October 2024.
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On Monday morning (13 January), Security Council members are expected to hold closed consultations on Lebanon. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert and Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix are the anticipated briefers. France, the penholder on Lebanon, requested the...
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Tomorrow morning (8 January), the Security Council will hold a briefing on the political and humanitarian situations in Syria. Special Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher will brief on political and humanitarian developments, respectively....
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On Monday morning (6 January), the Security Council will hold a briefing on food insecurity in Sudan under the “Protection of civilians in armed conflict” agenda item. The expected briefers are Director of the Operations and Advocacy Division at the...
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Algeria is the president of the Security Council in January. Council members adopted the provisional programme of work for the month earlier today (2 January). Algeria has chosen to organise three signature events during its presidency. The first one is...
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Tomorrow morning (30 December), the Security Council will hold an open briefing under the “Threats to international peace and security” agenda item. The meeting was scheduled after Israel requested an urgent Security Council meeting in a 24 December letter to...
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Tomorrow morning (27 December), the Security Council is expected to convene a meeting to vote on a draft resolution, authored by the UK (the penholder on Somalia), regarding the successor mission to the African Union (AU) Transition Mission in Somalia...
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Tomorrow morning (27 December), Security Council members will convene for closed consultations on Syria. Special Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen is expected to brief. France and Slovenia requested the meeting to keep the Council informed about developments in the country....
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This afternoon (20 December), the Security Council will convene for an open briefing under the “Threats to international peace and security” agenda item. Russia requested the meeting to discuss the supply of Western weapons to Ukraine. High Representative for Disarmament...
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This morning (20 December), the Security Council is expected to vote on a draft resolution renewing the mandate of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) for one year, until 20 December 2025. France and Sierra...
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Tomorrow morning (20 December), the Security Council is expected to hold a briefing, followed by consultations, on West Africa and the Sahel. Special Representative and Head of the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) Leonardo Santos Simão...
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Tomorrow morning (20 December), the Security Council is expected to vote on a draft resolution highlighting the need to facilitate adequate and sustainable child protection capacities in UN peace operations—that is, peacekeeping operations and special political missions—including in the context...
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Tomorrow morning (19 December), the Security Council will convene for a briefing on artificial intelligence (AI) under the “Maintenance of international peace and security” agenda item. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will chair the meeting, which is one of...
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This afternoon (18 December), the Security Council will convene for an open briefing under the agenda item “Non-proliferation/Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)”. The meeting was requested by France, Japan, Malta, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Slovenia, the UK, and...
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Tomorrow morning (18 December), the Security Council will hold an open briefing, followed by closed consultations, on “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question” (MEPQ). Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific Mohamed Khaled...
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Tomorrow morning (17 December), the Security Council will hold a briefing on the political and humanitarian situations in Syria. Special Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher will brief on political and humanitarian developments,...