PRESS CONFERENCE BY SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT ON NOVEMBER WORK PROGRAMME

The Security Council expected a briefing on 5 November regarding the implementation of its resolution 1559 (2004) concerning Lebanon, Marty Natalegawa, Permanent Representative of Indonesia, said at a Headquarters press conference this afternoon.

Terje Roed-Larsen, Special Envoy for the implementation of resolution 1559, would conduct the briefing in closed consultations, Mr. Natalegawa said, as he briefed correspondents on the Council’s work programme for November, the month in which his country holds that organ’s rotating presidency.  Lebanon would also be the subject of consultations on 29 November, when the implementation of resolution 1701 (2006) would be considered.  On 21 November, B. Lynn Pascoe, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, would deliver his monthly briefing on the situation in the Middle East, which would be followed by an open debate.

Mr. Natalegawa said the Council might consider the situation in Myanmar when Ibrahim Gambari, the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser, returned from his visit to that country.  There were also many African issues on the Council’s agenda.  Members would hear a briefing on the Great Lakes region on 13 November, when Joaquim Alberto Chissano, Special Envoy for the Lord’s Resistance Army-affected areas, would be in New York.  During consultations on 26 November, Special Envoy Jan Eliasson would brief the Council on the Sudan, providing an update on progress in Darfur negotiations held in Sirte, Libya.  On 28 November, there would be a private meeting with South African Minister for Safety and Security Charles Nqakula, facilitator of the Burundi peace process.  Somalia would be considered upon release of the Secretary-General’s latest report.

Other matters to be addressed included extension of the mandate authorization for the European Union military mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUFOR), he said.  The Council would also hold a private meeting with the President of the International Court of Justice (which took place this morning), and consideration of the joint report of the Counter-Terrorism Committee and other Council bodies considering terrorism issues.  On 15 and 16 November, newly elected members of the Council would attend the “Finnish workshop”.  The annual report of the Security Council would be presented to the Secretary-General on 12 November.

He said Hassan Wirayuda, Indonesia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, would preside over a ministerial-level open debate on 6 November as the Council considered the role of regional and subregional organizations in the maintenance of international peace and security.  The Council had invited a number of representatives of regional and subregional organizations to participate, and it was hoped that a presidential statement would be issued at the end of the meeting.

Asked about the Council’s view of Mr. Gambari’s mission to Myanmar, Mr. Natalegawa its position was very well reflected in presidential statement of 11 October (document S/PRST/2007/38, see Press Release SC/9139), in which the Council, speaking for the first time with one voice on the subject, expressed its support for that mission.

He said the Council had not yet considered the “expulsion” of United Nations Resident Coordinator Charles Petri as it had happened only very recently.  Speaking in his national capacity, he said that, if confirmed, that development would appear to be inconsistent with the “projected” positive steps that the Government of Myanmar had taken recently regarding cooperation with the United Nations.  It was to be hoped that the Myanmar authorities would continue to show the utmost cooperation with the Organization.

Responding to questions about Lebanon, he said that, as the Council President, he could not pre-empt the outcome of the 5 November meeting by saying whether there would be a presidential statement.  It remained to be confirmed whether Under-Secretary-General Pascoe would brief the Council on the implementation of resolution 1701 (2006) on 29 November.  As the report of the International Independent Investigative Commission would be published only at the “tail end” of the Indonesian presidency, it was doubtful that Serge Brammertz, head of the investigation into the murder of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and others, would brief in November.

Asked about the report on Iran by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), he said that, during bilateral discussions with concerned delegations, it had been decided to have the issue appear in the footnotes of the programme of work, under “non-proliferation”, rather than in the main body.  If there were to be further developments, interested delegations would no doubt try to move the issue onto the programme proper.  The work programme was dynamic and, if the situation required it, the necessary adjustments would be made.  The same went for the situation in Georgia.  There were no plans to address that situation in November, unless members requested it.

In response to another question, he confirmed that there were indeed plans for a Council mission to Timor-Leste at the end of the month.  However, it would not be a “full-fledged” mission involving all 15 members.  The mission’s terms of reference were still under discussion and would be published as soon as possible.

As for the debate on the role of regional and subregional organizations, Mr. Natalegawa said invitations had gone out, but it was still unclear whether the five permanent Council members would have ministerial representation.  The level of participation was not the only thing that mattered, as long as the quality of debate was high.

A correspondent, referring to Cote d’Ivoire’s complaint last month that the resolution on that country had been drafted by France, asked how new Council members would be assigned issues on which to draft resolutions, he said there was a formal process whereby members were assigned chairmanships of certain committees or work groups.  There were also informal mechanisms at work in the sense of certain delegations taking the lead on certain resolutions.

Speaking in his national capacity, he emphasized that, in the final analysis, the entire Council membership would need the opportunity for quality discussions on various draft resolutions before them and “not simply to have something drafted elsewhere and to be simply endorsed”.

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For information media • not an official record