Security Council Programme of Work for September 2025
The Republic of Korea (ROK) is the president of the Security Council in September. Council members adopted the provisional programme of work for the month earlier today (2 September).
The ROK has chosen to organise one signature event, a high-level open debate on artificial intelligence (AI) under the “Maintenance of international peace and security” agenda item. ROK President Lee Jae Myung is expected to chair the meeting, which will be held during the UN General Assembly’s high-level segment. Secretary-General António Guterres, as well as two other representatives, one from the industry and another from academia, are expected to brief.
In September, the Security Council will also hold an open debate on peace operations pursuant to resolution 2378 of 20 September 2017. The focus of the discussion will be the review of all forms of UN peace operations requested by the Pact for the Future, the outcome document of the 2024 Summit of the Future. The anticipated briefers are Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix; Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo; Ambassador Ricklef Johannes Beutin (Germany), the chair of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC); and Jenna Russo, the Director of Research and Head of the Brian Urquhart Center for Peace Operations at the International Peace Institute (IPI).
Council members will also hold a high-level informal interactive dialogue (IID) with representatives of the League of Arab States (LAS). LAS Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit and a Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) official are expected to brief. Participation is expected from members of the Arab Summit Troika, a group of three rotating countries that monitor the implementation of resolutions and commitments adopted by the LAS, which consists of the outgoing, current, and incoming Arab Summit chairs (Bahrain, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia). The ROK’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cho Hyun, will chair the meeting, which is being convened in accordance with a 29 January 2021 Security Council presidential statement (S/PRST/2021/2) that encouraged the holding of an informal meeting between Council members and LAS representatives on the margins of the General Assembly’s high-level segment.
Several Middle Eastern issues are on the programme of work this month.
There will be meetings on the political, humanitarian, and chemical weapons tracks in Syria. High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu will brief on the chemical weapons file. UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher are scheduled to brief in a joint meeting on political and humanitarian issues. A civil society representative may also brief at that meeting.
The Security Council will hold its monthly briefing and consultations on Yemen. UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg and Fletcher are expected to brief. A civil society representative may also brief.
The Council will also convene for its monthly meeting on “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question”. Ramiz Alakbarov, the Deputy Special Coordinator and Resident Coordinator at the Office of the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO), may brief. Additional meetings on this file may be convened depending on developments in Israel and Gaza. The Council might also take action on a draft resolution proposed by the ten elected members (E10) on the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Several African issues will be discussed in September.
The Security Council plans to vote on a draft resolution extending the Sudan sanctions regime (targeted sanctions and the arms embargo), which expires on 12 September. Council members will also continue following political and humanitarian developments in Sudan and may choose to convene additional meetings on the file.
There will be a briefing and consultations on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the DRC and Head of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) Bintou Keita is the anticipated briefer.
The only Asian issue on the programme of work is the Council’s quarterly briefing and consultations on the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). Special Representative and Head of UNAMA Roza Otunbayeva is expected to brief. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk and a civil society representative may also brief.
Regarding the Americas, the Security Council will consider reconfiguring the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission in Haiti—the mandate of which expires on 2 October—into a multinational mission to combat armed gangs, as well as the establishment of a related UN Support Office.
As in previous months, the Council may hold one or more meetings on Ukraine in September. It may also discuss developments related to Iran and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) after France, Germany, and the UK (the E3) initiated on 28 August the “snapback” mechanism to re-impose UN sanctions on Iran. Other issues could be raised during the month depending on developments.
