Security Council Programme of Work for December 2025
Slovenia is the president of the Security Council in December. Council members adopted the provisional programme of work for the month earlier today (1 December).
Slovenia will convene an open debate on “Leadership for Peace” under the “Maintenance of international peace and security” agenda item as the signature event of its presidency. Former UN Secretary-General and member of The Elders, Ban Ki-moon, as well as a woman civil society representative, are the anticipated briefers.
Council members are also expected to undertake a visiting mission to Lebanon and Syria between 3 and 7 December. As has been the practice, the Council may schedule a meeting to brief on the visiting mission after its conclusion.
Several other Middle Eastern issues are expected to be discussed in December.
The Security Council will hold its final briefing on the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), which will close by 31 December in line with resolution 2732 of 31 May 2024. Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNAMI Mohamed Al Hassan is the anticipated briefer. Closed consultations are scheduled to follow the open briefing.
The Council is also 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’s activities in the Golan in closed consultations. A private meeting with UNDOF troop-contributing countries is also expected to take place, at which Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations (DPPA-DPO) Mohamed Khaled Khiari will brief.
The Security Council will hold its monthly meeting on “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question” to receive an update on the implementation of resolution 2334. (Adopted on 23 December 2016, resolution 2334 condemned Israeli settlements and called for immediate steps to prevent violence against civilians, including acts of terror.) Ramiz Alakbarov, the Deputy Special Coordinator and Resident Coordinator at the Office of the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO), is expected to brief. A civil society representative may also brief. Closed consultations are scheduled to follow the open briefing.
At today’s press briefing on December’s programme of work, Ambassador Samuel Žbogar (Slovenia), noted that there may be a request for an oral briefing on the implementation of resolution 2803 of 17 November, which welcomed the establishment of a Board of Peace (BoP) and authorised the body to establish a temporary International Stabilization Force (ISF) in Gaza.
There will also be a briefing on Yemen, with consultations scheduled to follow. Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg is scheduled to brief. An official from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and a civil society representative are also expected to brief.
The Council will hold its regular monthly meeting on the political and humanitarian tracks in Syria. Deputy Special Envoy for Syria Najat Rochdi and an OCHA official are expected to brief on political and humanitarian issues, respectively. A civil society representative may also brief.
Several African issues are on the programme this month.
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 will convene for a briefing, followed by consultations, on MONUSCO. Lacroix is expected to brief at the meeting. A civil society representative may also brief. It will also hold a private meeting with MONUSCO troop-contributing countries, at which Assistant Secretary-General for Africa in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations (DPPA-DPO) Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee is expected to brief.
Two votes are anticipated on Somalia: one on a draft resolution renewing the 2713 Al-Shabaab sanctions regime and another reauthorising the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM).
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 is expected to brief. A civil society representative may also brief.
Regarding the Central African Republic (CAR), the chair of the 2745 CAR Sanctions Committee, Amar Bendjama (Algeria), is scheduled to brief the Council on the Committee’s work.
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. Closed consultations are scheduled to follow the briefing.
The Council plans to hold its bimonthly briefing on the situation in Libya. Consultations are scheduled to follow. The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya and Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Hanna Serwaa Tetteh, is expected to brief on the latest political, security, and humanitarian developments in the country. The chair of the 1970 Libya Sanctions Committee, Ambassador Mohamed Rabi Yusuf (Somalia), is expected to brief on the Committee’s activities.
Regarding Asian issues, the Council will hold its quarterly meeting on the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). Slovenian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon is expected to chair the meeting. Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General (Political) and UNAMA Officer-in-Charge Georgette Gagnon is expected to brief. An OCHA official and a civil society representative are also expected to brief.
On the Americas, there will be a briefing by the chair of the 2653 Haiti Sanctions Committee, Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett (Guyana).
This month, Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen, in her capacity as the current Chairperson-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), is expected to brief the Security Council on the organisation’s activities. Fajon is expected to chair the meeting.
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 2025 and their respective chairmanships are:
- Ambassador Amar Bendjama (Algeria): the 2745 CAR Sanctions Committee and the 1373 Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC).
- Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett (Guyana): the 2653 Haiti Sanctions Committee and the 2048 Guinea-Bissau Sanctions Committee.
- Ambassador Jihoon Cha (Republic of Korea): the 2140 Yemen Sanctions Committee; the 1591 Sudan Sanctions Committee; and the Working Group on Peacekeeping Operations.
- Ambassador Michael Imran Kanu (Sierra Leone): the 1533 Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Sanctions Committee; the 2206 South Sudan Sanctions Committee; and the Informal Working Group on International Tribunals.
- Ambassador Samuel Žbogar (Slovenia): the 1518 Iraq Sanctions Committee.
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.
The Council also plans to vote on a draft resolution extending the mandate of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED).
At today’s press briefing, Žbogar noted that there are likely to be requests for additional meetings, including on Iran (non-proliferation), Myanmar, Sudan, and Ukraine. He also mentioned that Slovenia will convene an informal interactive dialogue (IID) on youth, peace and security (YPS) with the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) on 9 December.
Council members are also currently negotiating several products which may be adopted during the month, including a draft resolution on YPS proposed by Guyana and Sierra Leone and a Slovenia-authored draft presidential statement on Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) marking the 30th anniversary of the Dayton Peace Agreement.
