In progress at UNHQ

Security Council: Press Conference


Children and armed conflict, justice and the rule of law, and the situation in Sudan were among the major areas to be considered by the Security Council during Mexico’s presidency in June, Claude Heller, that country’s Permanent Representative, said at a Headquarters press conference today.
The President of the United Nations Security Council for May, Lebanon’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Nawaf Salam, today outlined a programme of work for the month, which will include debates, consultations and briefings on a broad spectrum of issues, and will also include at least one Council mission.
Reviews of major peacekeeping and peace-building efforts, as well as a members’ mission to Africa, will be among the most significant activities of the Security Council in April, the permanent representative of Japan said today.
The Security Council will have an open debate on the impact of illicit arms trafficking on peace and security in the Central African region on 19 March, Emmanuel Issoze-Ngondet of Gabon, this month’s Council President, said today at Headquarters.
Ambassador Gérard Araud, of France, which holds the Security Council’s rotating Presidency this month, told reporters today that the 15-member body would kick off its work with a briefing tomorrow from United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on his recent travels, as well as on the massive humanitarian effort underway in earthquake-devastated Haiti.
It was particularly important this month for the Security Council to strengthen coordination with regional organizations, as it considered the next steps in situations such as Somalia, Ambassador Zhang Yesui of China, whose country holds the body’s presidency for January, told correspondents at Headquarters today.
Burkina Faso, December’s President of the Security Council, had organized an open debate on “drug trafficking as a threat to international security” on 8 December, that country’s Permanent Representative Michel Kafando said today at Headquarters.
This month’s President of the Security Council, Thomas Mayr-Harting from Austria, today briefed correspondents on November’s programme of work, which will include a debate on protection of civilians in armed conflict chaired by Austria’s Minister for Foreign Affairs.