Week 67, 18 – 22 April 2022

Ireland and the UN Security Council – This Week

This bulletin will provide a brief analysis of last week’s meetings at the UN Security Council (UNSC), and an overview of the upcoming meetings this week.

• Last week, the Security Council addressed the increasing reports of sexual violence and human trafficking in Ukraine. Security Council delegates called for the closing of vaccine-equity gaps in conflict zones and the Security Council held its annual open debate on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence, entitled, “Accountability as Prevention: Ending Cycles of Sexual Violence in Conflict”.
• The Security Council held a meeting on the situation in Ukraine on 11 April 2022. In the context of increasing reports of sexual violence and human trafficking in Ukraine, Ireland expressed concern over allegations that children are among those being abused and underlined the need for accountability. Ireland strongly condemned the indiscriminate attack against a train station in Kramatorsk and all attacks on civilians.
• In a Security Council meeting on 11 April 2022 on the implementation of resolutions 2532 (2020) and 2565 (2021) on the COVID-19 pandemic, Ireland underlined the need to address very low vaccination rates in conflict or post-conflict contexts, which requires building capacities in logistics, transport and delivery of health services. Ireland further condemned the reported 160 attacks on health-care facilities, workers, and transport globally in 2022, including more than 100 in Ukraine.
• In an open briefing on Colombia on 12 April 2022, the UN Special Representative informed the Security Council that recent elections in Colombia saw women voted into office at a rate not seen before. Ireland welcomed this significant increase in representation for women in Parliament but condemned attempts by illegal armed groups to intimidate and interfere with the political process in some communities.
• The Security Council held its annual open debate on Conflict Related Sexual Violence, entitled, “Accountability as Prevention: Ending Cycles of Sexual Violence in Conflict” on 13 April 2022. Ireland noted that a robust framework for accountability exists but that the real gap is in implementation and called for the use of targeted sanctions on grounds of conflict-related sexual violence.
• The Security Council issued a press release on 13 April on Yemen, which expressed deep concern about Yemen’s humanitarian crisis and encouraged donors to fully fund the UN humanitarian response plan and support the Government of Yemen’s efforts to stabilise the economy.  
• In a Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, Ireland welcomed the UN-brokered, two–month truce in Yemen. Ireland underlined the need to couple such de-escalation efforts with accountability for international law violations. Ireland further expressed hope that future dialogues will see a minimum of 30 per cent participation by women and voiced regret that no women are included in the Presidential Leadership Council.

The Week Ahead (18-22 April 2022)

This week the Security Council will continue to closely follow the situation in Ukraine, convening a meeting on the maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine. The Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence, Simon Coveney, will brief the UNSC on his visit to Ukraine last week. The Council will hold the first of its biannual briefings on the UN Mission in Kosovo. There will also be meetings on Libya, Western Sahara and South Sudan. Ireland is planning to hold an Arria-formula meeting on conflict and hunger.  An "Arria-formula" meeting is an informal meeting of members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), which must be convened by a member of the UNSC in order for the meeting to take place.

Monday – 18 April 2022

• No official meetings.

Tuesday – 19 April 2022

• The Council will hold closed consultations on the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).  
• The Council will have a meeting on the maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine.
• Minister Simon Coveney will update the Security Council on his visit to Ukraine last week.

Wednesday - 20 April 2022

• The Peacebuilding Commission will hold an ambassadorial-level meeting on the Lake Chad Basin. 
• The Council will hold its biannual closed consultations on Western Sahara/the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). Personal Envoy of the SG (PESG), Staffan de Mistura, and MINURSO SRSG, Alexander Ivanko, are expected to brief.

• The Council will hold the first of its biannual briefings on the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). This will be the first appearance of the new Head of UNMIK/SRSG Caroline Ziadeh.

Thursday – 21 April 2022

• The UN Security Council will receive the report of the Secretary-General on the Sudan and South Sudan.
• The Council will hold a briefing and consultations on the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) in Sudan.

• Ireland is planning to hold an Arria-formula meeting on conflict and hunger. According to the UN, this Arria-formula meeting will allow practitioners active on the conflict and hunger agenda, both in the UN system and in the field, to share updates on the alarming global trends of conflict-induced hunger and recommend possible actions to break the cycle of conflict-induced food insecurity.

Friday – 22 April 2022

• No official meetings.