Ethiopia has the presidency in September. A visiting mission to Addis Ababa is planned in early September for the 11th annual consultative meeting between members of the UN Security Council and members of the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC). Immediately after the visit there will be a briefing on the visiting mission. A briefing on the report of the Secretary-General on strengthening the partnership between the UN and the AU by UN Special Representative to the AU Haile Menkerios is also expected in September.

Sudan (Darfur)

On 3 July, the 1591 Sudan Sanctions Committee met to discuss the report of the chair, Ambassador Volodymyr Yelchenko (Ukraine), on his 14 to 18 May 2017 visit to Sudan (SC/12903). Yelchenko briefed Council members in consultations on the work of the committee on 24 July. 

Children and Armed Conflict

AFRICA

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Expected Council Action

MIDDLE EAST

Syria

In March, Council members expect to receive briefings on the humanitarian and political situation in Syria as well as on the use and production of chemical weapons.

Key Recent Developments

One of the Security Council’s most important tasks—and one of the things it does least well—is to prevent conflict. In recent years, the Council, among other international actors, has struggled to prevent the outbreak and escalation of conflicts in Syria, South Sudan, Ukraine and Yemen, among other situations. Yet the Council does possess several tools to prevent conflict, which is one of its core responsibilities under the UN Charter.