What's In Blue
Latest post: Fri 13 Sep 2024Insights on the work of the UN Security Council
Next Week’s Meetings on “The Middle East, including the Palestinian Question”
Next week, the Security Council is expected to hold two open meetings on “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question”. On Monday (16 September), Council members will receive a briefing from Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator (SHRC) for Gaza Sigrid Kaag on the implementation of resolution 2720. The resolution, which was adopted in December 2023 in the context of the war between Israel and Hamas, requested the Secretary-General to appoint a SHRC mandated with establishing a UN mechanism for accelerating humanitarian consignments to Gaza. The Executive Director of the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS), Jorge Moreira da Silva, is also expected to brief. (UNOPS was tasked with the operationalisation and management of the mechanism mandated by resolution 2720.) Closed consultations are scheduled to follow the open briefing.
On Thursday (19 September), members expect to hear a briefing from Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland on the implementation of resolution 2334. Adopted in 2016, this resolution demanded that Israel cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT), including East Jerusalem, and called for immediate steps to prevent violence against civilians, including acts of terror. A civil society representative is also expected to brief. Slovenia’s Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Tanja Fajon, will chair the meeting. Closed consultations are scheduled to follow.
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Tomorrow morning (11 September), the Security Council is expected to vote on a draft resolution renewing the 1591 Sudan sanctions regime—including targeted sanctions (assets freezes and travel bans) and an arms embargo—until 12 September 2025. The short draft resolution in...
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Tomorrow afternoon (10 September), the Security Council will hold a briefing on the situation in Ukraine. Ecuador and France requested the meeting following the latest barrage of Russian missile and drone attacks that targeted multiple cities across Ukraine. In a letter...
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On Monday (9 September), the Security Council will hold its annual meeting on UN peacekeeping pursuant to resolution 2378 of 20 September 2017. This resolution requested the Secretary-General to provide a comprehensive briefing on peacekeeping reform every 12 months. This year, Slovenia has chosen...
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This afternoon (5 September), Security Council members will convene for closed consultations on Sudan, at the request of the UK (the penholder on the file). Director of the Operations and Advocacy Division at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian...
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Today (5 September), following the closed consultations on the Syria chemical weapons track, Council members will discuss Venezuela under “any other business”. Ecuador requested that members address the situation in the country, where the results of the 28 July presidential...
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Tomorrow afternoon (4 September), the Security Council is expected to hold a briefing on “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question”. Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo and Director of the Operations and Advocacy Division...
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Slovenia is the president of the Security Council in September. Council members adopted the provisional programme of work for the month earlier today (3 September). Slovenia has chosen to organise one signature event, a high-level open debate on “Leadership for...
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At Switzerland’s invitation, members of the Security Council visited Geneva on 25 and 26 August to mark the 75th anniversary of the 1949 Geneva Conventions. (For background information, see our 25 August What’s in Blue story.) On the afternoon of the informal visit’s...
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At Switzerland’s invitation, members of the Security Council visited Geneva on 25 and 26 August to mark the 75th anniversary of the 1949 Geneva Conventions. (For background information, see our 25 August What’s in Blue story.) On the second day of the informal...
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At Switzerland’s invitation, members of the Security Council visited Geneva on 25 and 26 August to mark the 75th anniversary of the 1949 Geneva Conventions. (For background information, see our 25 August What’s in Blue story.) The informal visit of...
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This afternoon (29 August), the Security Council will hold an open briefing on “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question”. Switzerland and the UK called for the meeting in light of the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza...
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This morning (28 August), the Security Council is expected to vote on a draft resolution extending “the present mandate” of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for one year, until 31 August 2025. UNIFIL was most recently renewed through...
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Tomorrow morning (28 August), the Security Council will hold a briefing on the political and humanitarian situations in Syria. Special Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen and Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Joyce Msuya are expected to brief on political and...
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Tomorrow afternoon (28 August), the Security Council will hold a briefing on the situation in Ukraine. Slovenia and the US, the co-penholders on political issues in Ukraine, requested the meeting to discuss the political and security situation in the country. A...
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At Switzerland’s invitation, members of the Security Council are visiting Geneva today and tomorrow (25 and 26 August) to mark the 75th anniversary of the 1949 Geneva Conventions. According to a concept note prepared by Switzerland, the objective of this...