Press Conference by Security Council President on Work Programme for September

The Security Council on 20 September would hold a high-level open debate on United Nations peacekeeping reform to consider recommendations contained in the report of the High-level Independent Panel on Peace Operations, Tekeda Alemu (Ethiopia), Council President for the month, said at a Headquarters press conference today.

Presenting the Council’s programme of work for September, Mr. Alemu said the meeting, to be chaired by the Prime Minister of Ethiopia in parallel with the general debate of the seventy-second session of the General Assembly, would also reflect on recommendations made by the Secretary-General and his predecessor regarding peacekeeping reform.

Briefing the open debate would be the Secretary-General; Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union Commission; and José Ramos-Horta, former President of Timor-Leste, who chaired the High-level Independent Panel, he said.  “If I am not too optimistic, I think we can expect about 10 or so Heads of State and Government” to participate in the meeting, he said.

In other business, he said the Council would depart New York on 5 September for Addis Ababa for its eleventh joint consultation with the African Union Peace and Security Council.  An informal meeting between the two bodies on 7 September would look at the financing of African Union peace support missions, partnership between the African Union and United Nations, and post-conflict reconstruction and peacebuilding, he noted.  The formal joint consultation session, on 8 September, would address the situations in Somalia, South Sudan and the Lake Chad region.

At Headquarters, on 11 September, the Council would consider a report of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1718 (2006) on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, he said.

Two meetings on threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts were scheduled.  The first, on 27 September, would focus on aviation security, while the other, the following day, would feature a briefing by the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Office.

A resolution on the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) would be adopted on 14 September, while Mark Lowcock, the new Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, would brief the Council on Syria on 27 September.

Turning to questions, including whether he had set a goal to raise African concerns, he said the Council’s mandate focused on international peace and security.  Noting that Africa suffered from a lack of peace and security, he said that he would be satisfied with even a small level of progress on the issue.  He expressed hope that progress that had been achieved in Somalia would continue.  He went on to say that the Council was following developments on elections carefully, noting that Kenya had been an example of peace and stability in the region.

Asked to identify a priority security issue for Africa, he expressed hope to make progress on the situation in South Sudan, for the people and the region.  On the forthcoming Council visit to Ethiopia, he said the mission would include meetings with high-level officials.

On the issue of the killing of two Panel of Experts members in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he said there was a need to work with that country’s Government, which had a great responsibility to ensure that no stone remained unturned and that the killers were brought to justice.

Addressing the current situation in Myanmar, he said the Council had held consultations several days ago, and the issue would be followed up.

To a question on recent reports of torture in Venezuela, he said the issue had been raised in the Council, but that it would unlikely be included on September’s schedule.

Asked whether there was a confirmed list of speakers at the high-level open debate on peacekeeping, he said there was an informal list, adding, when queried, that he had no information on United States President Donald Trump’s participation.

For the full programme of work, please see www.un.org/en/sc/programme/.