High-level Open Debate on Advancing Political Solutions in the Middle East
On Wednesday (10 June), the Security Council will hold a high-level open debate titled “Advancing Political Solutions in the Middle East: Mediation and Dialogue for Lasting Peace” under the “Maintenance of international peace and security” agenda item. Colombian President Gustavo Petro Urrego is expected to chair the meeting, which is one of the signature events of Colombia’s June Council presidency. UN Secretary-General António Guterres is the anticipated briefer.
The concept note prepared by Colombia for the open debate states that the recurrence of conflicts and armed violence in the Middle East, coupled with a worsening humanitarian situation, poses growing challenges to regional stability and the maintenance of international peace and security. It observes that the repercussions of these crises extend beyond the region—disrupting energy markets, supply chains, and food security—while eroding confidence in multilateral mechanisms for crisis management and the peaceful settlement of disputes. The concept note further emphasises that the protection of civilians, including conditions for the safe work of humanitarian, medical, and relief personnel, has been severely undermined, as humanitarian needs rise and funding gaps widen amid the collapse of essential infrastructure and services such as health care, sanitation, and education.
Against this backdrop, the concept note argues that the persistence of armed conflict in the Middle East underscores the need to advance long-term political solutions. It describes diplomacy, mediation, and dialogue as indispensable tools for reducing tensions, building trust among parties, and advancing sustainable political arrangements. The concept note stresses the central role of the UN—including the Secretary-General and his envoys—as well as regional actors and organisations and third states in supporting inclusive and credible dialogue processes, and calls for fostering complementarity and synergies among various initiatives and dialogue platforms. It further stresses that international mediation is a fundamental pillar for conflict prevention and the peaceful settlement of disputes, noting that comparative experience demonstrates that durable ceasefires are closely linked to mediation processes supported by clear political commitments, international guarantees, and credible verification mechanisms.
According to the concept note, Wednesday’s open debate seeks to identify concrete ways to strengthen the existing mediation architecture, draw lessons learned, and promote more coherent, inclusive, and effective approaches, in line with relevant Security Council resolutions and the UN Charter. It sets out three objectives for the meeting: to reaffirm the centrality of mediation and preventive diplomacy as effective mechanisms for reducing tensions and advancing sustainable political solutions; to reflect on the global impacts of instability in the Middle East and to examine how dialogue and mediation can help mitigate these risks and strengthen international resilience; and to identify lessons learned and strengthen coherence and complementarity among mediation efforts, political dialogue, and other international initiatives. The concept note poses several questions to help guide the discussion, including:
- In what ways can mediation, dialogue, and good offices processes help mitigate the effects of conflicts on food security, ensure humanitarian access, and protect civilians in protracted crisis contexts?
- How can the Security Council contribute to preserving the stability of supply chains, international energy security, and freedom of navigation?
- What lessons learned can be drawn to strengthen more inclusive, flexible, and context-sensitive mediation approaches that respond to the historical, cultural, and political realities of the region?
Wednesday’s meeting will take place nearly a year after the Council’s high-level open debate on conflict prevention and the peaceful settlement of disputes, which Pakistan convened during its July 2025 presidency. At that session, the Council unanimously adopted resolution 2788 of 22 July, which urged member states to make full use of the UN Charter’s Chapter VI mechanisms—namely negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and judicial settlement. The resolution drew on Action 16 of the Pact for the Future, adopted by member states at the September 2024 Summit of the Future, which calls for political backing and adequate resourcing for these tools.
At the same time, the Council remains deeply divided over several conflicts on its agenda, especially in the Middle East. As a result, individual member states and regional organisations have increasingly taken the lead in diplomatic efforts to resolve crises in the region and elsewhere, in some cases sidelining the UN. This has prompted concern and criticism among some observers about the declining political role of the world body, whose efforts have been increasingly focused on humanitarian initiatives to blunt the impact of armed conflict rather than on political processes seeking to prevent or end them. Reflecting these concerns, resolution 2788 requested the Secretary-General to provide concrete recommendations to further strengthen mechanisms for the peaceful settlement of disputes, which he is expected to deliver in a briefing next month.
At Wednesday’s meeting, Guterres may recall the UN Charter’s general prohibition on the use of force and its tools and provisions for the pacific settlement of disputes. He is likely to underscore the need to redouble political efforts to end the conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, and Yemen and may reaffirm that the UN’s good offices—which include the Mediation Support Unit (MSU) in the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA)—remain at the parties’ disposal. Guterres may also express concern about the apparent targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure across these conflicts and call on all parties to uphold their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law (IHL).
Echoing the concept note, Guterres may further emphasise the conflicts’ wide-ranging repercussions, especially the war in Iran, which has led to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz and raised global food and energy prices, with severe humanitarian consequences across the world. Additionally, he is likely to stress the interlinked character of the wars and could highlight the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a root cause of other crises in the region, reiterating his call for a negotiated settlement that results in a two-state solution in line with relevant Security Council resolutions and the New York Declaration, which the General Assembly endorsed in September 2025.
In addition to commenting on country-specific developments in the region, Council members are likely to highlight their national experiences with and involvement in mediation processes. Colombia may refer to its 2016 peace agreement with the former rebel group Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia-Ejército del Pueblo (FARC-EP)—the implementation of which the UN has supported through the UN Verification Mission in Colombia—and offer lessons learned for the crises in the Middle East. The Council’s three African members (the Democratic Republic of the Congo [DRC], Liberia, and Somalia)—countries which are either currently or had previously been on the Council’s agenda—may similarly describe their experiences in peace-making processes, including the role played by the UN and regional organisations. Pakistan may recall the unanimous adoption of resolution 2788, which it penned, and note its mediation role in ongoing negotiations between Iran and the US. For its part, the US is likely to describe its engagement in brokering ceasefires between Israel and Lebanon and Israel and Hamas, respectively. Some member states may encourage the UN to assume a more proactive mediation posture and could signal this as a priority for the next Secretary-General to succeed Guterres, whose second and final term expires at the end of the year.
