press conference by Security Council president on january work programme

A ministerial-level open debate on peace, security and development in Africa’s Great Lakes region would be held on 27 January, Augustine Mahiga (United Republic of Tanzania), Security Council President for January, said at a Headquarters press conference this afternoon.

Briefing correspondents on the Council’s programme of work for January, he said that as a Great Lakes country, the United Republic of Tanzania had found it necessary to revisit issues affecting the region, including the many positive developments that had taken place in neighbouring Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Uganda.  It was time for a high-profile discussion involving ministers following the Security Council mission to the region in November.  It was also an opportune time to assess developments in Burundi, following its successful transition and democratic elections, and to encourage the Democratic Republic of the Congo following its recent referendum and as it prepared for elections before 30 June.

At the same time, he said, the Council had adopted three key resolutions over the past six months which were related to the situation in Africa, particularly the Great Lakes.  Resolution 1625 (2005) on conflict prevention, adopted at the Summit level in September, contained many elements relevant to the current Great Lakes situation.  Resolution 1631 (2005), on enhancing and strengthening cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations, provided an opportunity to examine the extent to which the Council and the African Peace and Security Council could forge a closer relationship in the areas of conflict resolution, peacekeeping and peacebuilding.  And only last month, the Council had adopted resolution 1649 (2005) relating to “negative forces”, or foreign armed elements, in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  There was a need to reflect on all three resolutions and determine how the peace process could be moved forward in partnership between the Security Council, the African Union and the countries of the Great Lakes region.

Recalling a summit meeting of the region’s countries, held in the Tanzanian capital at the end of 2004, he said it had adopted the Dar es Salaam Declaration, and that a second summit that was to have been held in Nairobi, Kenya, before the end of 2005 was to have discussed peace, security and development, as well as humanitarian, governance and democracy issues with a view to adopting a peace and security pact among the Great Lakes countries.  The Council did not intend to upstage that initiative, but the Tanzanian Council Presidency was an opportunity to encourage those countries to continue developing good neighbourliness, to lay the foundation of sustainable peace after many years of conflict, and to capitalize on what appeared to be very positive developments in the region, particularly in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Returning to the Council’s 27 January public debate, he said it would be attended not only by foreign ministers from the Great Lakes region, but also by those from Council members.  In addition, the Group of Friends of the Great Lakes, who had been actively involved in supporting peace, had all been invited to participate.  A resolution was being prepared for adoption, if not on that day, by the end of the month.  The essence of that text would be to encourage countries of the Great Lakes to consolidate the peace process and lay the foundation for lasting peace in the region.

Highlighting other events on the work programme, Mr. Mahiga said the Council would hold an open meeting on Sudan on 13 January, when Jan Pronk, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in that country, would give his periodic report.  In addition, the Council had requested Salim Ahmed Salim, Facilitator of the Inter-Sudanese Dialogue in Abuja, to report on the latest developments in the peace negotiations there.

Consultations on Eritrea and Ethiopia would be held on 9 January, he said, noting that they had originally been scheduled for 6 January.  However, the United States had requested a postponement because Ambassador John Bolton would be travelling at the weekend to Washington, where he would be consulting with the State Department on developments in the whole of Africa, particularly relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia.

Turning to Haiti, he said Argentina had requested a briefing on that country owing to the postponement of elections scheduled for early this month.  Council members wished to hear a briefing by the Secretariat on the exact circumstances that had led to the postponement. On 23 January, the Council would hold a public meeting on the United Nations Office in Timor-Leste (UNOTIL), which would be addressed by that country’s President, and on 16 January, the Foreign Minister of Belgium would chair an open briefing in his capacity as Chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Other meetings would include an open briefing on the Middle East on 30 January and a public meeting on the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) on 31 January.  The final day of the Tanzanian Presidency would also see formal meetings on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG).

With respect to the operation of the Peacebuilding Commission, the President recalled that last month the Council had adopted a resolution which had endorsed the selection of the five permanent members to the Commission’s Organizational Committee.  The Council was supposed to select two additional members and Japan had been requested to undertake immediate consultations to determine who those members would be.  The Presidency -- ideally the most suited to that task -– wished to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest since at least one member had expressed a wish to see the United Republic of Tanzania as one of the candidates.

Turning to the work of the Council’s subsidiary bodies, he said they would be chaired as follows:  Committee on Somalia -- Qatar; Committee on Rwanda -- Argentina; Committee on Sierra Leone -- United Republic of Tanzania; 1267 Committee -- Argentina; Counter-terrorism Committee (CTC) -- Denmark; Committee on Iraq -- Ghana; Committee on Liberia -- Denmark; Committee on the Democratic Republic of the Congo -- Peru; 1540 Committee -- Slovakia; Committee on Côte d’Ivoire and Committee on Sudan -- Greece; Working Group pursuant to resolution 1566 -- Peru; Working Group on Peacekeeping -- Japan; Working Group on Conflict Prevention in Africa -- Congo; and the Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict -- France.  The chairmanship of the Working Group on Sanctions had not been filled pending consultations.  The Working Group on Documentation had been more or less dormant, and it had been proposed that it be chaired by one permanent member and one or two elected members.

Asked why the programme contained nothing about the draft resolution tabled last month on the protection of civilians, considering the difficulty that members had had with the “responsibility to protect” and other issues, Mr. Mahiga said that the United Kingdom, which held the Council Presidency for December, would continue with consultations, which would, hopefully, result in adoption of the text during the Tanzanian Presidency.  There remained a few sticking points to resolve.

He told the same correspondent, who had asked whether Mr. Salim would present the results of an assessment mission to Darfur, that he would be apprising the Council on the progress of the peace process in Abuja, but not specifically on the assessment mission that had gone to evaluate the future of the African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur and how it could later be related to the United Nations.  That would be discussed when the relevant report was completed.

Asked whether he foresaw a resolution to implement one of the options for the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) proposed in the Secretary-General’s report, Mr. Mahiga said it was too early to say whether the Council would adopt a resolution or a presidential statement.  However, there was a sense of urgency as the 40-day deadline had expired, the situation on the ground remained tense, and there was a lot of concern in the region and in the Council, which would meet as soon as possible to assess the situation.

To another question by the same journalist -- regarding a resolution to select the two remaining members of the Peacebuilding Commission’s Organizational Committee -- he said the resolution had already been adopted and all that remained was the selection from among the Council’s non-permanent membership.  However, a vote would be held if there was no consensus.

Asked if he envisaged two African members of the Peacebuilding Commission, he said that besides the United Republic of Tanzania, Congo and Ghana were also eligible, but there were also Latin American and European non-permanent members who were all free to run.  Consultations were being carried out in order to take care of the geographical balance and synchronize each country’s respective tenure.  The United Republic of Tanzania had only one year left on the Council whereas other countries had two.

Regarding the 27 January meeting, the same journalist asked what sort of ministerial involvement could be expected since an African Union Summit would be taking place at the same time.  Were African Union officials expected to attend the meeting on Côte d’Ivoire?

The Council President said that the Summit was on 23 and 24 January and the ministers were expected to come directly to New York from Khartoum.  As for Côte d’Ivoire, it was still too early to know who would be coming, but given developments on the ground, there should be high-level representation as the situation there was quite fluid.

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For information media • not an official record