Security Council Programme of Work for November 2025
Sierra Leone is the president of the Security Council in November. Council members adopted the provisional programme of work for the month earlier today (3 November).
Sierra Leone has chosen to organise two signature events during its presidency. The first one will be an open debate on Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW). Sierra Leone’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Timothy Musa Kabba, is expected to chair the meeting. The expected briefers are Adedeji Ebo, the Officer-in-Charge of the Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) and Deputy to the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, and Mohamed Ibn Chambas, High Representative of the African Union (AU) for the Silencing the Guns Initiative.
The second expected signature event is a high-level open debate on conflict-related food insecurity under the “Threats to international peace and security” agenda item. Sierra Leone’s President, Julius Maada Bio, will chair the meeting. Briefings are expected from UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher, AU Special Envoy for Food Systems Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, and a civil society representative.
In addition, Sierra Leone will convene a briefing titled “Climate and security—environmental impact of armed conflict and climate driven security risks” under the “Threats to international peace and security” agenda item. The anticipated briefers are Inger Andersen, the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP); Charles C. Jalloh, Professor of Law at the University of Miami and member of the International Law Commission; and a civil society representative.
In November, the Security Council will hold its annual open debate on working methods. Ambassador Christina Markus Lassen (Denmark), co-chair of the Informal Working Group on Documentation and Other Procedural Questions (IWG), will brief. Shamala Kandiah Thompson, Executive Director of Security Council Report, and Loraine Sievers, co-author of “The Procedure of the UN Security Council” (4th Edition), are also expected to brief.
The Security Council and General Assembly will both hold elections on the same day for a vacancy on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in November.
Several African issues are on the programme this month.
Regarding Sudan/South Sudan, the Council expects to renew the mandate of the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) and extend the mission’s support for the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism (JBVMM), established in 2011 to conduct monitoring and verification activities along the Sudan-South Sudan border, before their 15 November expiry. It will also hold an open briefing on UNISFA. Assistant Secretary-General for Africa in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations (DPPA-DPO) Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee and Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Horn of Africa Guang Cong are expected to brief. Closed consultations are scheduled to follow the open briefing.
The Security Council is also expected to vote on a draft resolution renewing the mandate of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) ahead of its 15 November expiry.
Sierra Leone will convene an open briefing under the agenda item “Peace Consolidation in West Africa”. Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio, who also serves as Chairperson of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), is expected to chair the meeting, which is likely to focus on countering terrorism in the region. Briefings are expected from Special Representative and Head of the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) Leonardo Santos Simão, Acting Under-Secretary-General for Counter-Terrorism Alexandre Zouev, ECOWAS Commission President Omar Alieu Touray, and a civil society representative.
There will also be an open briefing on the situation in South Sudan, including the work of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix is expected to brief. UN Women Executive Director Sima Sami Bahous may also brief. Closed consultations are scheduled to follow the open briefing.
Regarding Libya, International Criminal Court (ICC) Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan will provide the Court’s semi-annual briefing concerning cases in the country. The Council also expects to vote on a draft resolution reauthorising measures, initially established under resolution 2292 of 14 June 2016, allowing member states to inspect vessels on the high seas off the coast of Libya that they have reasonable grounds to believe are violating the arms embargo.
The Security Council will also address several Middle Eastern issues in November.
The Council is expected to renew the Yemen financial and travel ban sanctions measures, set to expire on 15 November, and the mandate of the Yemen Panel of Experts, which expires on 15 December. It will also hold its monthly briefing and consultations on the file. The anticipated briefers are Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg and Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Joyce Msuya. The Council will also receive a briefing from the chair of the 2140 Yemen Sanctions Committee, Ambassador Sangjin Kim (Republic of Korea), on the Committee’s work.
The Council will hold its monthly meeting on the political and humanitarian tracks in Syria. Deputy Special Envoy for Syria Najat Rochdi and Fletcher are expected to brief on political and humanitarian issues, respectively.
There will also be a briefing in consultations on the Secretary-General’s report on the implementation of resolution 1701. (Adopted in 2006, resolution 1701 called for a cessation of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel.) The anticipated briefers are Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert and Lacroix.
The Security Council will hold its monthly open briefing on “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question”. A UN Secretariat official is expected to brief. Closed consultations are scheduled to follow the open briefing.
Regarding non-proliferation issues, the chair of the 1718 Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) Sanctions Committee, Ambassador Aglaia Balta (Greece), is expected to brief Council members in closed consultations on the 90-day report regarding the committee’s work.
In November, the Council is scheduled to receive its annual briefing from the chairs of its counter-terrorism-related committees: Ambassador Sandra Jensen Landi (Denmark), the chair of the 1267/1989/2253 Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee; Ambassador Amar Bendjama (Algeria), the chair of the 1373 Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC); and Ambassador Eloy Alfaro de Alba (Panama), the chair of the 1540 Committee, which assists member states in preventing non-state actors from obtaining access to weapons of mass destruction.
At today’s press briefing on November’s programme of work, Ambassador Michael Imran Kanu (Sierra Leone) noted that Guyana and Sierra Leone have co-authored a draft resolution on youth, peace and security (YPS) that they hope to table for a vote during the month.
The 15 current Council members and the incoming five—Bahrain, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Latvia, and Liberia—will participate in the annual “Hitting the Ground Running” workshop organised by Finland on 6 and 7 November.
Other issues, including Sudan and Ukraine, could be raised in November depending on developments.
