Week 20: 17 - 21 May 2021

Recent developments at the UNSC

• Minister Coveney addressed the UN Security Council on Sunday 16 May 2021 at an emergency meeting on the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. He called for an immediate ceasefire and said that “the cycle of violence and bloodshed must end now”.
• The UN Security Council failed to produce a statement on the situation in Israel-Palestine after Sunday’s meeting as the US blocked a statement for the third team in a week.
• In a Security Council meeting on the situation in Yemen on Wednesday 12 May 2021, the Members of the Council agreed press elements which confirmed support for Special Envoy Griffiths and recalled that a ceasefire and political solution can end the conflict and humanitarian crisis.
• Minister Coveney announced a contribution of €300,000 to the International Criminal Court’s Trust Fund for Victims - Ireland’s largest ever contribution to the TFV.
• The Security Council unanimously renewed the mandate of UNISFA on Tuesday 11 May 2021; the UN Mission in Abyei located between South Sudan and Sudan.

Monday – 17^th May

• Fatou Bensouda, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, will deliver her final semi-annual briefing to the Security Council on recent developments concerning cases in Libya.

Tuesday – 18^th May

• Briefing, followed by consultations, on the Group of Five for the Sahel (G5 Sahel) Joint Force. The expected briefers are Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix; Chad’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Chérif Mahamat Zene, on behalf of the G5 Sahel; Force Commander of the G5 Sahel Joint Force, General Oumarou Namata Gazama; and Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) Chair, Ambassador Mohamed Fathi Ahmed Edrees (Egypt). Under-Secretary-General for Operational Support Atul Khare is expected to brief during the consultations.

Wednesday – 19^th May

• China will convene a high-level open debate on “Addressing the root causes of conflict while promoting post-pandemic recovery in Africa”. Wang Yi, China’s State Councillor and Minister for Foreign Affairs, will chair the meeting. Secretary-General António Guterres, Administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Achim Steiner and Chairperson of the AU Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat are the expected briefers. A presidential statement is a possible outcome of the meeting.

Thursday – 20^th May

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

Friday – 21^st May

• The 2140 Yemen Sanctions Committee will hold a closed meeting to hear a presentation by the Yemen Panel of Experts on its work programme.