Press Conference by Security Council President on Programme of Work for June
The Security Council will hold a high-level open debate on poverty, underdevelopment and conflict on 19 June, the Council’s President for that month announced today at a press conference at United Nations Headquarters.
Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett of Guyana, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the 15-nation organ this month, told reporters that this signature event — chaired by her country’s President, Mohamed Irfaan Ali, and featuring briefers from both the UN and the African Union — will build on previous discussions about the relationship between sustainable development and international peace and security.
“This is not the first time such a meeting will be held,” she said, recalling that the Council has discussed the security-development nexus in the past. Sweden, Brazil and China have all brought the broader question of security and development to the Council. “We intend to go a step further this time,” she said, as this meeting will focus on poverty and underdevelopment as both drivers and consequences of conflict.
Noting the upcoming eightieth anniversary of the UN and the proliferation of conflicts — “one count put this at more than 120 presently” — and that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are “not anywhere close to being achieved by 2030”, she said that this debate will be both timely and relevant. She added that Guyana — along with Denmark and Sierra Leone — will organize an expert-level briefing ahead of the event on 5 June, which will be open to all Member States.
She went on to state that the Council has 29 scheduled meetings for June, all of them — save the signature event — mandated. Country-specific meetings will include those on Syria, Iraq, Central African Republic, Sudan, Libya, United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) and Yemen. There will also be a meeting, held pursuant to resolution 2334 (2016), regarding Israeli settlements on Palestinian territory.
“On the thematic side”, she continued, the Council will hold a meeting on non-proliferation related to the implementation of resolution 2231 (2015) concerning the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. And on 25 June, the Council will host its annual debate on children and armed conflict — “the trends are worrying”, she emphasized. Guyana will also organize press stakeouts focused on climate, peace and security, and women, peace and security.
Further, she said that the organ will hold its annual informal meeting with the European Union’s Political and Security Committee on 3 June to discuss threats to peace and security and the strengthening of the multilateral order. She also noted that at least two Arria-formula meetings will be held in June, and that two adoptions — renewing sanctions concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo and UNDOF’s mandate — are scheduled for 30 June.
She concluded: “As is always the case, we do not expect that this programme of work will remain as it is now, given the many issues requiring the Council’s attention.”
She then fielded a variety of questions from the press, many of which focused on the situation in Gaza. On whether the draft resolution currently being negotiated on this issue will make a difference given the non-implementation of similar Council texts, she said: “Yes, there is a concern for all of us on implementations of resolutions that we have passed in the past, but the Security Council has a responsibility to take action.”
Asked whether the Council supports imposing the strict sanctions on Israel, increasingly contemplated by public figures, such as France’s President, if it does not halt its war on Gaza, she said that the Council has not discussed taking any action on sanctions at this time. And, when asked about her level of frustration with the legacy the Council will leave on Gaza given Israel’s violation of international law, she stressed: “We are frustrated, but we are not the only one.”
Relatedly, she was asked whether the upcoming conference on the two-State solution will yield concrete results or be just like any other — people will come, give speeches, support the two-State solution and then walk out. Speaking in her national capacity, she noted that the framework for such solution is in place; “the question is implementation”. She added: “It is a blot on the international community — on the international system — that this matter has remained unresolved since 1948.”
The conference, she continued, will bring attention to the fact that the two-State solution “is not dead”. Underscoring that this is the only solution if Israel and Palestine are to live in peace, she said: “There can be no security guarantees if an entire people does not have their homeland, and this cycle of violence will continue.” She also stressed that Guyana’s position is “rooted in our belief that occupation is wrong, that colonization is wrong and that the self-determination of the people of Palestine must be exercised”.
She was also asked whether Council members planned to visit Gaza — or at least the border — to get an idea of what is really happening in the Strip. Speaking in her national capacity, she said this is “a very good idea”, but added that “the feasibility of it at this point in time would have to be explored”. Recalling the Council’s visit to Colombia during Guyana’s previous presidency, she said this “gave us a deeper and wider perspective” and supported future visits of the kind.
Several other questions today concerned Syria. Asked whether federalism can be helpful in protecting minority rights, she expressed hope that this new chapter for Syria will result in a “better” Syria and wished the authorities well during this time. Regarding the conclusion of the chemical-weapons file, she said that, while the Council is not yet ready to do so, it is “progressing very well”.
Asked how the Council will attempt to ensure the protection of minority groups in Syria, she spoke in her national capacity to note Guyana’s position that all groups must be included. “I come from a country with six different peoples, and we know very well that we need to always have policies and programmes to ensure that minorities are not left behind,” she emphasized.
On a question concerning the Council’s position on ongoing peace negotiations between Türkiye and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party [PKK], she said that the organ has not decided as a group on what advice should be given. However, in her national capacity, she encouraged negotiations to continue towards a peaceful settlement of the issues at hand.
Regarding the participation of Catherine Russell, Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and Virginia Gamba, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, on the Council’s 25 June meeting on that topic, she said that both have been invited and confirmed to brief.
Asked if there would be an outcome document following the signature event, she said that her delegation is working on a presidential statement. And, on whether the Council will meet on Ukraine in June, she said that her delegation has been informed that there has been a request for such a meeting. She added: “And, as you know, when there is one request, there will be a second one.”
One correspondent — pointing out that Guyana’s Foreign Ministry features many women in high positions — asked about the statistics for women’s participation in Guyana’s Government as a whole. She reported that over 33 per cent of members of Parliament are women, as is 25 per cent of the Cabinet, and that “quite a number” of women are present at the regional and local levels. And asked whether men are allowed in Guyana’s Foreign Ministry, she said: “Yes, men are allowed.”
She was also asked about her position on Security Council reform. Speaking in her national capacity, she stressed that the organ is the only UN body not representative of the Organization’s membership — particularly with regards to developing countries. She thus expressed support for the “CARICOM [Caribbean Community] model of reform”; namely, an expansion of both non-permanent and permanent membership categories.
She also supported the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration regarding permanent membership for Africa. “We do not believe that the veto should remain,” she went on to say, but added that, if it is not abolished, incoming Council members should have the same rights as existing ones. “Given that we’ve been on the Council for these last several months, we are even more motivated to advocate for Security Council reform,” she stated.
For the full programme of work, please see: www.un.org/securitycouncil/events/calendar.