What's In Blue

Posted Tue 2 Jan 2018

Security Council Programme of Work for January

Kazakhstan is the president of the Security Council in January.

Its presidency will feature a high-level briefing on non-proliferation and confidence building measures. President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan will preside, and Secretary-General António Guterres will brief.

Its presidency also includes a special focus on the Central Asia region. Kazakhstan will host a ministerial-level debate on building regional partnerships in Afghanistan and Central Asia as a model to link security and development. Kairat Abdrakhmanov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, is expected to preside, while Secretary-General Guterres is expected to brief. A presidential statement is the anticipated outcome.

The semi-annual consultations on the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA) will be held, with a briefing anticipated from Special Representative and head of the UNRCCA Natalia Gherman.

Several African issues are on the programme this month. There will be a briefing on the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) by Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix. This will be followed by consultations.

Special Representative and head of the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) Mohamed Ibn Chambas will brief on the work of UNOWAS. The briefing will be followed by consultations.

A briefing, followed by consultations, is expected on AU/UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID). It is anticipated that Under-Secretary-General Lacroix will provide the briefing.

Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Bintou Keita and Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Ursula Mueller are scheduled to brief on the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). Consultations are expected to follow.

The Council is expected to receive a briefing, followed by consultations, on the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) from Special Representative and head of UNSMIL Ghassan Salamé. Prior to consultations, Sweden, which chairs the 1970 Libya Sanctions Committee, will brief on the committee’s work.

The Council further expects to receive a briefing on the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) from Under-Secretary-General Lacroix, followed by consultations.

Special Representative and head of the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) Michael Keating is expected to provide a briefing on UNSOM, which will be followed by consultations.

A resolution renewing sanctions in the Central African Republic (CAR) and the mandate of the Panel of Experts assisting the 2127 CAR Sanctions Committee is anticipated.

Regarding the Middle East, there will be the regular briefings on the political and humanitarian situations and on chemical weapons in Syria. Assistant Secretary-General Mueller is expected to brief on the humanitarian situation, while Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura may brief on political matters. High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu is expected to brief on chemical weapons.

The quarterly open debate on the Middle East (Israel/Palestine) is also planned for January.

Colombia is on the programme of work this month. A briefing is anticipated from the Special Representative and head of the UN Verification Mission in Colombia, Jean Arnault, on the Secretary-General’s 90-day report on the mission. This will be followed by consultations. Assuming that the government of Colombia and the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) decide to renew their temporary bilateral ceasefire, the Council will most likely renew the part of the mission’s mandate dealing with the monitoring and verification of the ceasefire.

There will be a briefing in consultations on the work of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) by Special Representative and head of UNFICYP Elizabeth Spehar. The Council is expected to renew UNFICYP’s mandate by the end of the month.

The US has expressed its intention to call for a meeting on the situation in Iran, but such a meeting had not been scheduled at press time.

A wrap-up session will be held at the end of the month.

The Council will continue to follow closely developments in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Ukraine, Yemen and Myanmar, and meetings on these and other issues could be scheduled during the month.

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