Programme of Work for October 2024
Switzerland is the president of the Security Council in October. Council members adopted the provisional programme of work for the month earlier today (1 October).
Switzerland has chosen to organise two signature events. The first is a high-level briefing on “Anticipating the impact of scientific developments on international peace and security” under the “Maintenance of international peace and security” agenda item. Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland Ignazio Cassis is expected to chair the meeting. Director of the UN Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) Robin Geiss is expected to brief. Additional briefers are also anticipated.
The second signature event is the annual open debate on women, peace and security (WPS), which this year will be titled: “Women Building Peace in a Changing Environment”. President of the Swiss Confederation Viola Amherd is expected to chair the meeting. Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, UN Women Executive Director Sima Sami Bahous, and one or more civil society representatives are the anticipated briefers.
This month, the Security Council is scheduled to hold its annual private meeting with the President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Judge Nawaf Salam.
The Council will also hold its annual briefing on cooperation between the UN and regional and sub-regional organisations, focusing on the African Union (AU). The expected briefers are Special Representative of the Secretary-General to the AU and Head of the UN Office to the AU (UNOAU) Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, Assistant Secretary-General for Africa in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations (DPPA-DPO) Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, and AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security Bankole Adeoye.
The 18th annual joint consultative meeting between the Security Council and the AU Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) will be held on 18 October. The annual meeting rotates between New York and Addis Ababa, the home of the AU headquarters. This year, the meeting will be held in New York, and it will be preceded by the ninth informal joint seminar of the Security Council and the AUPSC, which is set to take place in Tarrytown, New York, on 16 and 17 October in a retreat format.
Several other African issues are on the programme of work this month.
Regarding Somalia, the Council will hold a briefing and consultations on developments in the country. Briefings are expected from Acting Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia and Head of the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) James Swan, Special Representative of the AU Commission Chairperson (SRCC) for Somalia and Head of the AU Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) Mohamed El-Amine Souef, and a civil society representative. This month, the Council also expects to renew UNSOM’s mandate and to receive a briefing from the chair of the 2713 Al-Shabaab Sanctions Committee, Ambassador Kazuyuki Yamazaki (Japan), on the committee’s work. Additionally, it will hold a private meeting with the AU and Somalia to discuss an update from the Secretary-General pursuant to resolution 2748 of 15 August on the overall mission design and financing options for the proposed successor mission to the AU Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS).
The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region, Huang Xia, is expected to provide the biannual briefing to the Council on the implementation of the 2013 Peace, Security, and Cooperation Framework (PSC-F) for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Great Lakes region. A civil society representative may also brief. Closed consultations are scheduled to follow the open briefing.
Council members expect to renew the mandate of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) ahead of its 31 October expiry. Prior to that, the Council will hold its bimonthly briefing on the situation in Libya. Deputy Special Representative and Political Officer in Charge of UNSMIL Stephanie Koury will brief on recent political, security, and humanitarian developments in the country. A civil society representative may also brief. The chair of the 1970 Libya Sanctions Committee, Ambassador Kazuyuki Yamazaki (Japan), is expected to brief on the committee’s activities. Closed consultations are scheduled to follow the open briefing.
The Council is expected to renew the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), which expires on 31 October. Ahead of the mandate renewal, Council members will receive a briefing in consultations from Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Western Sahara Staffan de Mistura and Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Western Sahara and Head of MINURSO Alexander Ivanko.
There will be a briefing, followed by consultations, on the work of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), which will feature a briefing by Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Central African Republic (CAR) and Head of MINUSCA Valentine Rugwabiza.
This month, the Council is expected to receive a briefing on the situation in Sudan pursuant to resolution 2715 of 1 December 2023. Officials from the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) are expected to brief. Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Sudan Ramtane Lamamra and a civil society representative may also brief.
Several Middle Eastern issues will be addressed in October.
The quarterly open debate on “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question” will be held this month. Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland Ignazio Cassis is expected to chair the meeting, at which Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland is scheduled to brief.
On Lebanon, Council members are expected to receive their semi-annual briefing in closed consultations on the Secretary-General’s report on the implementation of resolution 1559. Adopted in 2004, the resolution called for the withdrawal of foreign forces from Lebanon, the disarmament of all militias, and the extension of government control over the whole Lebanese territory. Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo is the anticipated briefer.
Council members are also likely to watch developments in Lebanon, Israel, and the region closely and evaluate whether additional Council meetings are required. In this regard, a meeting has been scheduled for tomorrow (2 October) to discuss recent developments in the Middle East, following a request from France. Iran also requested an emergency meeting to discuss Israel’s actions in Lebanon in a 28 September letter sent to the Council after the assassination of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike. Israel subsequently sent a letter to the Council requesting an emergency meeting to address today’s airborne assault carried out by Iran against Israel.
Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific Mohamed Khaled Khiari will also brief Council members in closed consultations on the work of the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Golan.
The Council will hold its monthly briefing and consultations on Yemen. Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg, Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Joyce Msuya, and a civil society representative are expected to brief in the open chamber. The head of the UN Mission to Support the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA), Major General Michael Beary, is scheduled to brief in the closed consultations.
There will be a meeting on the political and humanitarian tracks in Syria. Special Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen and OCHA Director of the Operations and Advocacy Division Edem Wosornu are expected to brief. A civil society representative may also brief.
Two issues in the Americas will be discussed this month. The Council expects to renew the 2653 Haiti sanctions regime ahead of its 19 October expiry. It also plans to hold a briefing, followed by consultations, on the situation in Haiti. Special Representative and Head of the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) María Isabel Salvador will brief. A representative of Kenya may also provide an update on the deployment of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission in Haiti. A civil society representative might also brief.
The Council expects to renew the mandate of the UN Verification Mission in Colombia ahead of its 31 October expiry. Ahead of that, it will also hold its quarterly meeting on Colombia. Special Representative and Head of the UN Verification Mission in Colombia Carlos Ruiz Massieu and a civil society representative are expected to brief. Switzerland, the Council’s president in October, will apparently encourage a focus on issues relating to WPS at the meeting.
Regarding European issues, the Council will hold its semi-annual briefing on the situation in Kosovo. Special Representative and Head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) Caroline Ziadeh is the anticipated briefer.
As in previous months, the Council may hold one or more meetings on Ukraine in October. It might also discuss the 26 September 2022 explosions that caused physical damage to the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea.
Other issues could be raised during the month depending on developments.
