Security Council Programme of Work for February
Kuwait is the president of the Security Council in February.
Its presidency will feature a ministerial-level briefing on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter during which Secretary-General António Guterres is expected to brief.
Kuwait is also planning to convene an open debate of working methods.
Middle East issues will be a major focus of the Council’s work in February. With regard to Syria, the regular briefings on the political and humanitarian situations and on chemical weapons are expected to be held. At press time, Council members continue to negotiate a draft resolution on the use of chemical weapons in Syria.
The monthly briefing on the Middle East (Israel/Palestine) is expected to be provided by Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov, while Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to participate in the meeting. Consultations will follow the briefing.
Kuwait is further planning to organise an Arria-formula meeting on Israel/Palestine–including the humanitarian situation in the occupied territories–featuring briefings by former Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland, former Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Karen AbuZayd, and possibly former US President Jimmy Carter.
The Special Representative and head of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), Ján Kubiš, is scheduled to brief on the Secretary-General’s report on UNAMI and the most recent developments in Iraq. This will be followed by consultations.
Also with regard to Iraq, there will be an informal interactive dialogue during the month on the report of the independent external assessment team focused on reviewing the structure and staffing of UNAMI and related resources; a representative of the assessment team and a Secretariat official are likely to brief.
The Council expects briefings on Yemen by Special Envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed and a senior official from OCHA. It is anticipated that these briefings will be followed by consultations. The Council will also adopt a resolution renewing the 2140 Yemen sanctions regime and the mandate of the supporting Panel of Experts.
Several African issues will be addressed in February, including two mandate renewals: the mandate of the Panel of Experts of the 1591 Sudan Sanctions Committee and the mandate of UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS).
Ahead of the adoption on Guinea-Bissau, the Council will meet for a briefing and consultations on the situation. The Special Representative and head of UNIOGBIS, Modibo Touré, is expected to brief, while Ambassador Mauro Vieira (Brazil), chair of the Guinea-Bissau configuration of the Peacebuilding Commission, is also likely to brief.
The Council will receive a briefing, followed by consultations, on the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) from Special Representative and head of MINUSCA Parfait Onanga-Anyanga. There will also be a briefing, followed by consultations, on the work of the 2127 CAR sanctions committee by Ambassador Bernard Tanoh-Boutschoue of Côte d’Ivoire, which chairs the committee.
The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy Michel Kafando will brief the Council on Burundi. Former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa in his capacity as facilitator of the Inter-Burundian dialogue is also expected to participate.
The Council expects to receive the recommendations of the Secretary-General on the strategic review of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). A briefing on UNMISS, which will be followed by consultations, is scheduled for late in the month.
Counter-terrorism will be a focus on the Council’s work during the month. Under-Secretary-General Vladimir Voronkov, the head of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism, will brief on the Secretary-General’s strategic-level report on the threat emanating from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or Da’esh). This briefing will be followed by consultations.
The Council will be briefed on a report from the 1373 Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) on the implementation of resolution 2341 concerning critical infrastructure by Ambassador Gustavo Meza-Cuadra of Peru, the committee’s chair.
There will be a briefing on the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) from Special Representative and head of UNMIK Zahir Tanin.
The Chair of the 1718 Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) Sanctions Committee, Ambassador Karel van Oosterom of the Netherlands, is expected to brief on the committee’s work.
Issues in the footnotes of the programme of work that the Council will continue to follow closely include non-proliferation, Ukraine, and Myanmar. Meetings on these and other issues could be scheduled during the month.
