PRESS CONFERENCE BY SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT ON PROGRAMME OF WORK FOR AUGUST

Describing August as sometimes unpredictable, Jan Grauls of Belgium, Security Council President for the month, nevertheless outlined today the certainties or “quasi-certainties” of the Council’s work programme for the period.

At a Headquarters press conference, Mr. Grauls expressed the hope that the spirit of the Olympic Truce would palpably influence certain situations in the field.  The Olympic Games begin on Friday in Beijing.

He said the Council would extend the mandates of three peacekeeping operations this month:  the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), this week; the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), in the third week of August; and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), before month’s end.  The Council had just adopted a resolution creating the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL) earlier today.

Last summer, with the adoption of resolution 1770 (2007), the Council had sent a very clear signal about the central role to be played by the United Nations in Iraq in support of the Iraqi Government, he recalled.  The Secretary-General’s latest report provided some details about the activities of his Special Representative since that adoption.  A letter was now expected from the Iraqi Government, confirming its request to extend UNAMI’s mandate for one year.  In response, the Council would do so before 8 August.

The Council also had to renew authorization for AMISOM, which would expire on 20 August, and it would continue discussing a possible international presence in that country, he said.  The Secretary-General was considering the possibility of a stabilization force under a United Nations mandate, and the Council would most likely discuss that idea later this month, including the conditions under which it could be deployed.  The Council would follow closely developments in the Somali political process, which remained very fragile.

The extension of UNIFIL’s mandate had to happen by the end of the month, and was scheduled for 27 August, he said, adding that the Mission was very important to his country given the participation of Belgians in it.  The successful joint deployment of UNIFIL, together with the Lebanese Armed Forces, had brought about a kind of “strategic revolution” along the Blue Line.  The area had since known its longest period of relative calm since 2000.  Letters were expected from the Lebanese Government, requesting a mandate extension, and from the Secretary-General, recommending one, before 31 August.

On Myanmar, the Council President noted that Ibrahim Gambari, Special Adviser of the Secretary-General, would travel to the region by mid-month, noting that the humanitarian situation there seemed to be under control and moving in the right direction.  Thus, August was ripe to discuss the political situation, and Mr. Gambari was expected to request an opportunity to brief the Council upon his return.  The date and format of such a meeting remained to be determined.

He said there would be a midterm review of the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) on 19 August, for which the Council expected the Secretary-General’s Special Representative.  That meeting would be in the format of a debate, followed by consultations.  It would be an opportunity to take stock of the progress made in the past six months towards stabilizing the Timor-Leste situation.

Turning to Africa, he said the Council would consider the latest developments in the Sudan, from the angle of the north-south dimension, on 18 August.  Burundi was also on the agenda for 21 August at the request of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations.  There would be a debate followed by consultations.  The Secretary-General’s next regular report would be discussed in November, so this month’s meeting would be an interim update on the situation in Burundi.  The practice of inviting the Chairs of the Peacebuilding Commission’s country-specific configurations would continue.  The border situation between Djibouti and Eritrea was also expected to come up.

Also on the calendar, he said, was the regular monthly briefing on the situation in the Middle East, scheduled for 20 August, and a briefing by the Secretariat on the investigation into the incidents that had taken place at a Kosovo courthouse on 17 March.  There would also be two reports from subsidiary Council organs.  The Chairman of the “1540” Committee on the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction would present the final report on States’ compliance with that resolution, and the Chair of the Sanctions Committee on the Democratic Republic of the Congo would brief on the latest interim report of the Expert Group.

The President also drew attention to an important open debate on the Council’s working methods (document S/2006/507), to be held on 27 August.  There was great interest in that topic among the wider United Nations membership, and the Secretary-General would attend that discussion.

Responding to questions, he recalled that an important resolution had been adopted last week, extending the mandate of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID).  The Council had wanted to show its full support to the peacekeeping force on the ground.  While everyone knew that the United States had not voted in favour of the resolution, it had, in its explanation of position, expressed full support for the mandate’s extension, which therefore had the Council’s full backing.

The Council’s position was clear, he continued, noting that some members had declared their intention to return to the issue.  The resolution referred to “concerns raised by members of the Council regarding potential developments subsequent to the application by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court of 14 July 2008”, and took note of their intention to “consider these matters further”.  No delegation had as yet requested consultations or announced its intention to pick that up in August, but if delegations wished to revert to that issue during the month, and if none objected to such a discussion, the Council Presidency would schedule a discussion.

In response to questions about the recent statement by the United States that the Security Council had no choice but to expand its sanctions against Iran, he said he had not been approached on the matter as Council President.

Concerning the Presidency’s main priority for the month, he said he would not “cherry pick” from the work programme, but the open debate on working methods would be an important one, adding that document S/2006/507 contained some 63 recommendations for improving the Council’s working methods.

He added that a lot of progress had been made in terms of transparency and interaction between the Council’s permanent and non-permanent membership.  On 27 August, the Presidency would seek to take stock of progress and discuss future challenges leading to greater transparency and interaction.  No formal outcome, such as a presidential statement, was anticipated at the moment.

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For information media • not an official record