Plan of Work for December 2024
The US is the president of the Security Council in December.
Council members were unable to reach agreement on the provisional programme of work for the month, apparently due to Russia’s objection to the inclusion of Ukraine on the programme. Instead, the US has circulated a “plan of work”, which will be published on the presidency’s website. Council members were similarly unable to agree on last month’s programme of work because of objections raised by Russia to the programme proposed by the UK, November’s Council President, also reportedly because Ukraine was included. (For more information, see our 1 November What’s in Blue story.)
The US has chosen to organise two signature events during its presidency. It will convene an open briefing titled “Investing in the Transformative Power of Intergenerational Leadership on Women, Peace and Security” (WPS). The briefing apparently intends to emphasise the importance of dialogue and partnerships across generations of women peacebuilders in advancing the WPS agenda. Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo and one or more civil society representatives are the anticipated briefers.
The second signature event is a briefing on artificial intelligence (AI) under the agenda item “Maintenance of international peace and security”.
Regarding Ukraine, the US will convene a briefing focused on the situation of children early in the month. Executive Director of UNICEF Catherine Russell is expected to brief. A civil society representative may also brief.
At today’s (2 December) press briefing on December’s plan of work, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield (US) noted that the presidency is considering organising a ministerial-level meeting on Sudan on 19 December. The other scheduled meeting on Sudan this month is a briefing from the chair of the 1591 Sudan Sanctions Committee, Ambassador Joonkook Hwang (the Republic of Korea), regarding the committee’s work.
Several other African issues are expected to be discussed in December:
Council members are expected to renew the mandate of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). Prior to that, the Council is planning to hold a meeting with MONUSCO troop-contributing countries, at which Special Representative and Head of MONUSCO Bintou Keita is expected to participate. It will also convene for a briefing, followed by consultations, on MONUSCO. Keita and a civil society representative are the anticipated briefers.
Two votes are anticipated on Somalia: on a draft resolution renewing the 2713 Al-Shabaab sanctions regime and another on the successor mission to the African Union (AU) Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), whose mandate expires on 31 December.
A briefing, followed by consultations, is scheduled on the UN Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA) and the implementation of the UN’s regional strategy to combat the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). Special Representative and Head of UNOCA Abdou Abarry and a civil society representative are expected to brief.
The Council plans to hold its bimonthly briefing on the situation in Libya. Consultations are scheduled to follow. Deputy Special Representative and Political Officer in Charge of UNSMIL Stephanie Koury will brief on the latest political, security, and humanitarian developments in the country. The chair of the 1970 Libya Sanctions Committee, Ambassador Kazuyuki Yamazaki (Japan), is expected to brief on the committee’s activities. A civil society representative may also brief.
There will also be a briefing on West Africa and the Sahel. Special Representative and Head of the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) Leonardo Santos Simão is expected to brief. A civil society representative might also brief.
The Security Council plans to address a number of Middle Eastern issues this month:
The Council will hold a briefing and consultations tomorrow (3 December) to discuss developments in Syria after anti-government forces, led by the Security Council-listed terrorist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), launched a major offensive in the northwestern Aleppo Governorate on 27 November, reportedly capturing substantial portions of Aleppo city. Syria requested the meeting in a 1 December letter, supported by China, Russia, and the “A3 plus” members (Algeria, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, and Guyana). Special Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen is the anticipated briefer.
The Council will also hold its regular monthly meeting on political and humanitarian issues in Syria and hold a session on the use of chemical weapons in the country. High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu is expected to brief on the chemical weapons file. The meeting on political and humanitarian developments will feature briefings from Special Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen and Director of the Financing and Partnerships Division of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Lisa Doughten. A civil society representative may also brief.
Two meetings on “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question” are scheduled to take place in December. The Council will hold its regular monthly briefing and consultations on the file, at which Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) Muhannad Hadi will brief. Council members also expect to receive a briefing from Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator (SHRC) for Gaza Sigrid Kaag in line with resolution 2720 of 22 December 2023.
Council members will hold closed consultations on Lebanon on Wednesday (4 December). France, the penholder on the file, requested the meeting to receive a briefing on the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that was announced on 26 November. Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix is the anticipated briefer.
The Council is expected to renew the mandate of the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF). Ahead of the mandate renewal, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix will brief Council members on UNDOF in closed consultations. A meeting of Council members and UNDOF troop-contributing countries is also expected to take place, at which Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific Mohamed Khaled Khiari will participate.
There will be an open briefing on the situation in Iraq. Special Representative and Head of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) Mohamed Al Hassan will brief the Council on recent developments in the country and the Secretary-General’s most recent reports on UNAMI and the issue of missing Kuwaiti and third-party nationals and missing Kuwaiti property. A civil society representative may also brief. Closed consultations are scheduled to follow the open briefing.
Council members will hold their monthly briefing and consultations on Yemen. Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg is expected to brief. The new Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Thomas Fletcher, who was appointed on 9 October, is also expected to brief.
In December, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo will brief the Council on the Secretary-General’s report on the implementation of resolution 2231, which endorsed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran’s nuclear programme in 2015. Ambassador Vanessa Frazier (Malta), the Council’s facilitator for the implementation of resolution 2231, is expected to report on the Council’s work in relation to resolution 2231. The head of the EU delegation to the UN, Ambassador Stavros Lambrinidis, is also expected to brief in his capacity as coordinator of the Joint Commission, which was established by the parties to the JCPOA to oversee its implementation.
The only Asian issue currently planned for this month is Afghanistan. The Council will hold its quarterly meeting on the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). Special Representative and Head of UNAMA Roza Otunbayeva, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Thomas Fletcher, and a civil society representative are expected to brief. Ambassador Andrés Montalvo Sosa (Ecuador), in his capacity as the chair of the 1988 Afghanistan Sanctions Committee, is also expected to brief on the committee’s work. In addition, the Council is expected to renew the mandate of the Monitoring Team assisting the 1988 Afghanistan Sanctions Committee this month.
Regarding the Americas, there will be a briefing by the chair of the 2653 Haiti Sanctions Committee, Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett (Guyana).
As is customary in December, the outgoing chairs of the Security Council’s subsidiary bodies are expected to provide a briefing on their experiences in facilitating the work of those bodies. The representatives of the five members completing their two-year terms on the Council at the end of 2024 and their respective chairmanships are:
- Ambassador Pedro Comissário Afonso (Mozambique)—the Ad Hoc Working Group on Conflict Prevention and Resolution in Africa;
- Ambassador Pascale Baeriswyl (Switzerland)—the 1718 Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) Sanctions Committee;
- Ambassador Vanessa Frazier (Malta)—the 1267/1989/2253 Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee and the Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict;
- Ambassador Andrés Montalvo Sosa (Ecuador)—the 1988 Afghanistan Sanctions Committee and the 1540 Committee (non-proliferation); and
- Ambassador Kazuyuki Yamazaki (Japan)—the 1970 Libya Sanctions Committee, the 2713 Al-Shabaab Sanctions Committee, and the Working Group on Documentation and Other Procedural Questions.
This month, the Security Council is scheduled to hold its semi-annual debate on the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT). The IRMCT’s president, Judge Graciela Gatti Santana, and its prosecutor, Serge Brammertz, are expected to brief during the debate and to meet with the Informal Working Group on International Tribunals prior to that.
Council members are also expected to vote on a draft resolution extending the application of the standing humanitarian exemption created by resolution 2664 of 9 December 2022 to the 1267/1989/2253 Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) and Al-Qaida sanctions regime. (While resolution 2664 applied to all other UN sanctions regimes indefinitely, it modified the 1267/1989/2253 regime for an initial two-year period.)
Other issues could be raised in December depending on developments in contexts such as the DPRK, Haiti, Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), Lebanon, Syria, and Ukraine. Council members are also currently negotiating several draft resolutions, including on Myanmar and children and armed conflict, which may be voted on during the month.
