Week 37, 13-17 September 2021

Recent developments at the UNSC

• The Security Council held an open briefing with ‘the Elders’ on the maintenance of international peace and security on 7 September 2021. Elders Chair and former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson, and former UN Special Envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, briefed Council members on a range of issues including, climate and security, the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan, and conflict resolution.
• Ireland held the first signature event of its Presidency on UN Peacekeeping Transitions on 8 September 2021. Secretary-General, António Guterres, former Liberian President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and civil society representative, Safaa Elagib Adam briefed Council members.
• Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence, Simon Coveney, chaired a Security Council briefing on the situation in Afghanistan on 9 September 2021. The Special Representative for Afghanistan, Deborah Lyons and Afghan Peacebuilders, Wazhma Frogh and Malala Yousafzai, briefed Council members.
• The Security Council held a meeting on the situation in Yemen on 10 September 2021. The new Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, briefed Council members for the first time. The Council also agreed press elements on the situation in Yemen.
• Deputy Permanent Representative Jim Kelly chaired a Security Council meeting on the situation in Libya on 10 September 2021. Libyan activist, Asma Khalifa, briefed Council members on the role played by women, youth and civil society in building peace in Libya.
• The Security Council attended a commemoration at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum to mark 20 years since the 9/11 terror attacks. Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason placed a wreath at the survivor tree in memory of all the 9/11 victims. The Security Council also adopted a Press Statement, which was read out by Ambassador Byrne Nason.

Monday –  13^th September

• No official meetings.

Tuesday – 14^th September  

• Security Council members are expected to vote on a draft resolution renewing the mandate of the UN Support Mission for Libya (UNSMIL).
• The chair of the 1591 Sudan Sanctions Committee, Ambassador Sven Jürgenson (Estonia), is expected to provide the quarterly briefing on the committee’s work.
• Open briefing, followed by closed consultations, on the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS). Special Representative for Sudan and head of UNITAMS Volker Perthes will present the Secretary-General’s 90-day report on the mission, which was issued on 1 September 2021. A civil society representative may also brief.

Wednesday – 15^th September  

• Open briefing, followed by closed consultations, on the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). The expected briefers are Special Representative and head of UNMISS, Nicholas Haysom, and OCHA’s Director of Operations and Advocacy Division, Reena Ghelani. A civil society representative will also brief.
• Open briefing, followed by closed consultations, on the humanitarian situation in Syria. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, and a civil society representative are the anticipated briefers.

Thursday – 16^th September  

• At the subsidiary body level, the 1718 Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Sanctions Committee will convene to discuss the latest report of its panel of experts.

Friday – 17^th September  

• Security Council members are expected to vote on two draft resolutions: one renewing the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and another renewing the mandate of the UN Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh/ISIL (UNITAD).
• Meeting of the Informal Working Group on Documentation and Other Procedural Questions (IWG), with Afghanistan and Myanmar expected to dominate the agenda.