Press Conference by Security Council President on Work Programme for November

 

The centrepiece in the Security Council’s programme of work this month would be a ministerial meeting on the situation in the Sudan on 16 November, the current Council President, Mark Lyall Grant, Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom, told correspondents today at Headquarters.

“It is critical that the Council retains a very close focus on Sudan in these critical months.  We want to re-assert the importance the Council attaches to the referenda being held in a timely fashion, being credible, peaceful and their outcome being respected by all parties,” he said of the early January votes that will, respectively, decide the future of the resource-rich Abyie region, and whether Southern Sudan declares independence from Africa's largest country.

The issue of Darfur would no doubt be touched upon during the debate as well, he said, announcing that British Foreign Secretary William Hague would preside over the debate, and that other Foreign Affairs Ministers were expected to attend as well.  The gathering would adopt a Presidential Statement.

As for other highlights in the Council’s November work programme, Mr. Lyall Grant said that tomorrow, 3 November, the 15-member body was set to hear an early assessment of this past weekend’s election in Côte d’Ivoire from the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for that country, Choi Young-jin.  The situation in Myanmar might come up after the elections in that country on 7 November, he added.

He said that throughout the month, the Council also planned to hold interactive sessions with various Under-Secretaries-General.  For example, the Council planned a “horizon scanning” meeting with the Under-Secretary-General for the Department of Political Affairs on Thursday, 4 November.  In addition, on 24 November, the Council was expected to hold a meeting with Alain Le Roy, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping, and Susanna Malcorra, Under-Secretary-General for Field Support, on United Nations peacekeeping missions.

Further, the Council would hear updates from Alexander Downer, the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Cyprus, and from Christopher Ross, the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, following his tour through the region, both on 23 November.

Two open debates were planned:  one on the “protection of civilians in armed conflict”, on 22 November, where the Council wanted to give a new impetus to the implementation of resolution 1894 (2009) and confirm support for the new updated Aide Memoire; and the regular six-monthly debate on counter-terrorism, during which the Council wanted to identify some of the key challenges for the period ahead.

Regular discussions would be held on the situations in the Middle East, Lebanon, Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, he said.  The Council would hear briefings on the latest reports on Iraq and the respective sanctions regimes in Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Somalia.  At least four resolutions would be adopted:  on authorization for international actions against Somali piracy; on the authorization of the European Union Military Force (EUFOR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina; on the mandate of United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNOGBIS); and on the Democratic Republic of the Congo sanctions regime.

On 11 November, Mr. Lyall Grant would present the Council’s report to the General Assembly when that body held its annual discussion on matters related to the “question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council”.  He also planned to speak at a meeting marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

He said that along the way, Council members would also discuss the body’s working practices, trying to introduce some “small innovations” in order to make its discussions more interactive.  He hoped to make consultations and discussions in the Council a “little more sharper” in an attempt to get away from the practice of “everyone speaking on every subject”.  Another innovation would be videoconferencing with people in the field, for instance, with Mr. Choi in Côte d’Ivoire tomorrow.  The Council was also trying to improve its consultations with troop-contributing countries.  Chairpersons of sanctions committees could be asked to submit a written report and, during their briefings to the Council, give more personal reflections on their work.

Answering correspondents’ questions about the Sudan and the upcoming referenda, Mr. Lyall Grant said:  “It is too soon to say that it is not possible to hold those referenda on time.”  Indeed, 14 November would be a crucial date, as registration would start.  The Council was “not giving up” on the referendum on South Sudan being held in January.

He went on to say that after the Council’s visit to the Sudan in October, a rigorous timetable had been set, and work on technical issues was being carried out.  Later in the week, outstanding issues regarding the Comprehensive Peace Agreement — oil revenues, borders and citizenship — would be discussed in Addis Ababa.  Council members, including the “P-5” — permanent five members, China, France, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and United States — were trying to help resolve those issues.  One of the P-5’s concerns was that the Council send united messages, he added.

Regarding reports that, after the visit to a camp for internally displaced persons in Darfur, people who had spoken to Council members had been arrested and harassed, he said that matter had been pursued with the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and by Council members in their national capacities with authorities in Sudan.  It was still not clear who, exactly, had been arrested or why.

As for the presence of arms in the camps, he said that was a matter for the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) to deal with, and that mission certainly had the required Chapter VII “robust” mandate to do that.  It was, however, not an easy environment to operate in, marked as it was by continuous violence.  He said he had urged UNAMID, in his national capacity, to use the strong mandate it had been given.

Asked about the Western Sahara, specifically about upcoming talks between the parties in New York, he said he did not want to prejudge the negotiations.  Whether the Council had to take further action would depend mainly on the report Mr. Ross would deliver to it.

Asked for more information about the “horizon scanning” meeting, he said the intention was that the Under-Secretary-General of the Department of Political Affairs would brief in a more “freewheeling” format on potential risks to international peace and security in the framework of conflict prevention.  There were no pre-planned subjects.  The meeting would be followed by the dinner with the Secretary-General where, no doubt, his recent trip to the Sudan would be addressed.

Answering questions about Somali piracy, specifically about the issue of prosecution, Mr. Lyall Grant said the focus in that regard was on building capacity in the region.  The Secretary General’s Special Adviser on legal issues related to piracy off the coast of Somalia, Jack Lang, would report on the issue in December.  He added that the resolution on authorization of action against piracy would probably be a technical roll-over of the current text.

Addressing correspondents’ questions about the situation in Lebanon, specifically about the Special Tribunal to prosecute persons for the death of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and others, he said that, currently, nothing was included in the programme of work on that situation, but the Council was aware of it and the issue might be taken up under other business.  He had not heard about plans of Tribunal Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare to cancel a trip to the United States in order to deal with the situation there.

He said the Tribunal had been set up at the request of the Government of Lebanon and had been endorsed by the Council.  He had not seen any suggestion contrary to the notion that the Tribunal would continue its work.  There was no indication that the Government would withdraw its support or change its policy on that matter.  As the Council had established the Tribunal, it could, hypothetically, disestablish it, he added.

Asked about concerns that the peace process in Nepal would not be completed by the time the United Nations Mission there (UNMIN) was scheduled to depart that country in mid-January 2011, he said the issue probably would not be addressed in November.  B. Lynn Pascoe, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, might visit Nepal again in December and could report to the Council after that.  The Council’s decision was that UNMIN would close on 15 January, which was, according to the United Kingdom, “exactly what should happen”.

Answering another question, he said the Council was not anticipating any discussion on the recognition of a Palestinian State.

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For information media • not an official record