Week 87, 5 – 9 September 2022

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 French Presidency of the UN Security Council for the month of September commenced. The Council held meetings on Syria, Afghanistan and Libya and an Arria-formula meeting was held on "Threats to International Peace and Security caused by Transnational Activities of Terrorist Groups".

• On 29 August 2022, the Security Council was briefed by Geir O. Pedersen, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria, who outlined the deepening humanitarian crisis in Syria and the threat of escalating violence. He emphasised the need for all Council members to support the implementation of all aspects of resolution 2642 (2022), including the cross-border and cross-line modalities. Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, Joyce Msuya, also indicated that Syria is experiencing one of the lowest wheat harvests on record and the second failed wheat harvest in two years, while also suffering fuel shortages, radically reduced access to electricity and a water crisis across the country. Ireland’s new Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Fergal Mythen, also speaking on behalf of Norway, emphasised that resolution 2642 (2022) mechanism remains a critical, irreplaceable lifeline for millions, and expressed regret that the ninth round of the Constitutional Committee did not occur in July 2022 following the Syrian Government’s decision not to participate. Ireland urged the Syrian Government to put the best interests of its people first and engage constructively with the Special Envoy.

  

                       Geir O. Pedersen, Joyce Msuya                              

• The Council held a meeting on the situation in Afghanistan on 29 August 2022. Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, outlined that over half the population of the country, approximately 24 million people, are in need of humanitarian assistance. He further detailed that the humanitarian response plan for Afghanistan faces a financing gap of $3.14 billion, and $614 million is urgently required to support winter preparedness. During the meeting delegates disagreed over optimal level of international engagement with the Taliban. Ireland condemned the Taliban’s assault on human rights and said the preservation of the humanitarian space is an overarching priority for Ireland across the sanctions regime.  Ireland also proposed that the Council may need to consider revisiting broad-based privileges that were granted to the Taliban to pursue peace and security.
• On 30 August 2022, Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, presented the Secretary-General’s report on the United Nations Support Mission in Libya to the Council. Detailing the ongoing political stalemate in Libya and outbursts of violence in Tripoli that claimed 42 lives on 27 August 2022, the Under-Secretary-General told Council members that all parties must support efforts to move the Libyan government toward elections which are essential for elections. Ireland, addressing Libya’s political leaders, emphasised that legitimacy comes only from the Libyan people and the ballot box, and called for the holding of free, fair and inclusive elections to address the current executive impasse.
• On 30 August 2022, the Council held closed consultations on Syria’s lack of cooperation with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Ireland is currently sitting on the Executive Council of the OPCW.
• On 31 August 2022, Kenya and the United Arab Emirates convened an Arria-formula meeting on "Threats to International Peace and Security caused by Transnational Activities of Terrorist Groups". Ireland underscored that countering global terrorist groups requires regional engagement, border security, preventative and gender responsive approaches and respect for human rights

Deputy Permanent Representative of Ireland to the UN, Cáit Moran

• On 1 September 2022, France commenced its month-long Presidency of the UN Security Council. Reiterating that the crisis in Ukraine will be at the heart of the Security Council’s considerations during September, the Permanent Representative of France to the UN, Ambassador Nicolas de Rivière, detailed the programme of work which will encompass the usual meetings on the Middle East, with a focus on Syria, Lebanon and Yemen, as well as a number of meetings concerning Sudan, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Council will also hold a meeting on the situation in Afghanistan.

Ambassador Nicolas de Rivière and UN Secretary-General António Guterres 

The Week Ahead (5 – 9 September 2022)

This week, the annual Open Debate on UN Peacekeeping Operations will take place. Consultations will be held on Somalia and Yemen. Russia has requested a meeting on Ukraine, and the US and Albania have called for a meeting on the situation in Ukraine, regarding the issue of forced displacement and ‘filtration centres’’.  

Monday – 5 September 2022

• No official meetings.  

Tuesday – 6 September 2022

• France will hold the annual Open Debate on UN Peacekeeping Operations, with a briefing from Jean-Pierre Lacroix, UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations. The Under-Secretary-General is expected to update the Council on progress achieved to date on the Action for Peacekeeping + (A4P+) initiative, drawing from the recently-issued A4P+ Results Report.
• Russia has requested a meeting on Ukraine. The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, and the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Mariano Grossi, are expected to brief on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

Wednesday – 7 September 2022

• The Council will hold a briefing and consultations on the situation in Somalia and the activities of the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia. The new Head of the African Union Transition Mission for Somalia, Mohamed El Amine Souef, may brief the Council for the first time. EU Special Representative for the Horn of Africa, Annette Weber, is also expected to brief.
• The US and Albania have called for a meeting on the situation in Ukraine, regarding the issue of forced displacement and ‘filtration centres’, and Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, and the Assistant Secretary-General of Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ilze Brands Kehris, are expected to brief.

Thursday – 8 September 2022

• Closed consultations on Yemen will take place. The Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, Major General (ret.) Michael Beary of the UN Mission to support the Hudaydah Agreement and an official from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs are all likely to brief. This will be the last meeting before the truce in Yemen is due to expire on 2 October 2022.

Friday – 9 September 2022

• No official meetings.