Week 12: 22 - 26 March 2021

Recent developments at the UNSC

• Ambassador Jim Kelly delivered Ireland’s statement to the Security Council on 10^th anniversary of the Syrian conflict on Monday 15 March and underscored the responsibility of the UNSC to act to end the conflict.
• Minister Simon Coveney announced a three-year package of support for the United Nations Relief & Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine refugees on Tuesday 16 March. Ireland will contribute €6 million per year to UNRWA between 2021 and 2023
• At closed meeting on the implementation of UNSC resolution 1701 on Lebanon on Thursday March 18, Ireland called for an impartial and transparent investigation into the Beirut explosion.
• Minister Roderic O’Gorman delivered Ireland’s national statement at the Commission on the Status of Women on Thursday 18 March.

Monday – 22^nd March

• No official meetings scheduled.

Tuesday – 23^rd March

• Quarterly briefing on Afghanistan. Deborah Lyons, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan and head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), is expected to brief on the Secretary-General’s 12 March report on UNAMA. Shaharzad Akbar, chairperson of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), is also expected to brief.

Wednesday – 24^th March

• Briefing from the Special Envoy to Libya and head of the UN Support Mission for Libya (UNSMIL), Ján Kubiš, and the chair of the 1970 Libya Sanctions Committee, Ambassador T. S. Tirumurti (India).

Thursday – 25^th March

• Briefing, followed by VTC consultations, on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question. Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland is the anticipated briefer.
• Briefing from the chair of the 1591 Sudan Sanctions Committee, Ambassador Sven Jürgenson (Estonia), on the Committee’s work.
• Consultations on the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Golan Heights.

Friday – 26^th March

• Two subsidiary body meetings: the 2140 Yemen Sanctions Committee and 2206 South Sudan Sanctions Committee.
• Arria-formula meeting sponsored by Kenya on the threat of improvised explosive devices to peace operations.