What's In Blue
Latest post: Fri 13 Mar 2026Insights on the work of the UN Security Council
Afghanistan: Vote on Draft Resolution Renewing UNAMA’s Mandate
On Monday morning (16 March), the Security Council is expected to vote on a draft resolution extending the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) for three months, until 17 June.
On 3 March, China, the penholder on the file, circulated to all Council members the initial draft of the resolution, which sought a one-year renewal of the mission’s mandate. Following an expert-level meeting on 5 March, one revised draft, and two rounds of comments, the penholder placed a second revised draft under silence procedure on Tuesday (10 March) until the following day (11 March). The US subsequently broke silence, requesting a shorter extension of the mandate. China then engaged in bilateral consultations with Council members before placing a third revised draft under silence procedure on 12 March until later that day, which was again broken by the US. A further revised draft was subsequently placed under silence procedure until this morning (13 March). The draft text passed silence and was put in blue earlier today.
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On Monday morning (16 March), Council members are expected to receive the annual update on the work of the 1540 Committee. Adopted on 28 April 2004, resolution 1540 aims to prevent non-state actors from gaining access to weapons of mass...
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Tomorrow morning (12 March), the Security Council is expected to hold an open briefing on the work of the 1737 Sanctions Committee concerning Iran. The US—the Council president in March—intends to convene the meeting under the “Non-Proliferation” agenda item. No briefer is expected....
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This afternoon (11 March), the Security Council is expected to vote on two draft resolutions regarding the current crisis in the Middle East. One was presented by Bahrain on behalf of the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)—which...
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Tomorrow morning (11 March), the Security Council is expected to hold a briefing under the agenda item “The situation in the Middle East” focused on the situation in Lebanon. The expected briefers are Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary...
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On Monday afternoon (9 March), the Security Council will hold an open briefing on Afghanistan. Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General (Political) and Officer-in-Charge of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) Georgette Gagnon is expected to brief. Several regional member...
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Tomorrow morning (6 March), the Security Council will hold a private meeting on Myanmar. Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Myanmar Julie Bishop is expected to brief via videoconference (VTC). Philippine Foreign Secretary Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro will brief in person...
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Tomorrow afternoon (5 March), the Security Council will hold a briefing on “Energy, critical minerals, and security” under the “Maintenance of international peace and security” agenda item. US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright is expected to chair the meeting, which...
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The US is the president of the Security Council in March. Council members were unable to reach agreement on the provisional programme of work for the month, apparently due to China and Russia’s objection to the inclusion of a briefing...
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Today (28 February) at 4 pm EST, the Security Council will convene for an emergency briefing under the agenda item “The situation in the Middle East” to discuss the US-Israeli attacks on Iran earlier today and the retaliatory strikes by...
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On Monday afternoon (2 March), the Security Council will convene for an open briefing titled “Children, technology, and education in conflict” under the “Maintenance of international peace and security” agenda item. The US, which will assume the presidency of the...
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Tomorrow afternoon (24 February), the Security Council is scheduled to hold a high-level briefing on Ukraine. The meeting was requested by Ukraine, with support from the Council’s European members (Denmark, France, Greece, Latvia, and the UK), to mark the fourth...
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Tomorrow (24 February)*, Panama will convene an Arria-formula meeting titled “Red Hand Day 2026: Safe Education to Prevent the Recruitment and Use of Children in Armed Conflict”. The meeting is being co-organised by Greece and Liberia, together with non-Council members...
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Tomorrow morning (25 February), the Security Council will hold an open briefing on the situation in the Central African Republic (CAR). Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the CAR and Head of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the...
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Tomorrow morning (20 February), Russia will convene an Arria-formula meeting titled “The Information Dimension of the Ukrainian Crisis: How Media Narratives Shape Conflict”. The anticipated briefers are Glenn Diesen, a Norwegian political scientist, and Andrea Lucidi, an Italian independent journalist....
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Tomorrow morning (19 February), the Security Council will hold an open briefing on Sudan. The UK, the penholder on Sudan and Council president for February, has elevated the meeting to ministerial level, with its Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth...
