SECURITY COUNCIL REPORT Monthly APR 2008 28 March 2008 This report is available online and can beFORECAST viewed together with Update Reports on developments during the month at www.securitycouncilreport.org CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE Status Update since our March Forecast ..2 OVERVIEW FOR APRIL Cooperation with Regional Organisations/Conflict Prevention ....3 In April South Africa will have the Presidency PSC took place in 2007 in Addis Ababa.) Small Arms ..............................................3 of the Council. The combination of a large Debates are also under discussion on: Somalia .................................................... 4 number of scheduled items for consideration Sudan/Darfur ...........................................7 n Small Arms; and ongoing unresolved issues seems likely Ethiopia/Eritrea .......................................9 n Georgia (to renew the mandate of to make April an extremely busy month. Chad/Central African Republic ............11 UNOMIG); Côte d’Ivoire ..........................................2 An important open thematic debate is n Western Sahara (to renew the mandate Kosovo ...................................................4 scheduled for 17 April, at a high level. It will of MINURSO); Georgia ..................................................5 Haiti ........................................................7 combine two key thematic issues on the n Sudan (to renew the mandate of UNMIS); Iraq .........................................................9 Council agenda: and Lebanon .................................................2 n Conflict prevention; and n Iraq (for briefings by the SRSG and the US) Nepal ......................................................22 n Cooperation between the UN and Western Sahara .....................................24 A public session on the Middle East, in regional organisations. DPRK (North Korea) .............................26 accordance with normal practice, is also Liberia ....................................................26 It will be preceded, on 16 April, by the sec- expected—although the format is unclear Sierra Leone ..........................................26 Counter-Terrorism: Review of the ond formal meeting between the Security at this stage and is likely to be influenced by 1540 Committee ................................27 Council and the AU Peace and Security developments. Notable Dates for April .........................28 Council (PSC). (The first meeting with the >>page 2 Important Dates over the Horizon .......28 Aide-Memoire Important matters pending for the Council requested in March 2007 (S/PRST/2007/7) now coming so late as to be completely outdated. include: and November 2007 (S/PRST/2007/42) had (The March 2008 report covered the period from n The Council has yet to take up the Secretary- not been published as of press time. 1 July to 31 December 2007.) In the past, the General’s recommendations on protection n The Council requested the Secretary-General reports were produced every two to three months. of civilians contained in his report of 28 on 29 November 2006 (S/2006/928) to update n The December 2004 report by the Secretary- October 2007. the index to Council notes and statements on General on human rights violations in Côte n In a 21 November 2007 letter to the Secretary- working methods. This has not been published. d’Ivoire, requested by presidential statement General (S/2007/680), the President of the n The 2005 World Summit requested that the 2004/17, has still not been made public. Also on Council requested a briefing on steps the Security Council consider reforms for the Côte d’Ivoire, the December 2005 report by the Secretariat is planning to provide for the Military Staff Committee. This has yet to Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on the Pre- enhanced physical security of the UNMOVIC be addressed. vention of Genocide has not been published. archives, in particular those containing sensi- n On the DRC, the Council Sanctions Commit- n The Secretary-General has yet to put forward tive proliferation information. This information tee has not acted on individual sanctions proposals for the delineation of the interna- is not yet forthcoming. under resolution 1698 against armed groups tional borders of Lebanon, especially in the n In its resolution 1327 (2000) on the imple- that recruit children, despite MONUC reports Sheb’a Farms area, in accordance with reso- mentation of the report of the Panel on United about the problem continuing on a serious lution 1701, and respond to the cartographic, Nations Peace Operations (the Brahimi report, scale. Nor has the Council resumed discus- legal and political implications of the alterna- S/2000/809), the Council decided to review sion of the issue of natural resources in the tive path suggested by the government of periodically the implementation of the provi- DRC, which was raised in its open thematic Lebanon in its seven-point plan. sions contained in the resolution’s annex. debate on the subject of natural resources n The Secretariat was to report to the Council No such reviews have occurred in the past and conflict in June 2007 (S/PV.5705). on Kenya as requested in its 6 February pres- three years. n On West Africa, the Council has yet to follow idential statement (S/PRST/2008/4). n The Secretary-General’s report on enhanc- up its 16 March 2007 consultations on cross- n The Council is yet to consider the 23 January ing cooperation between the UN and border issues. Secretary-General’s report on security sec- regional organisations, in particular the AU, n UNAMI reports on human rights in Iraq are tor reform (S/2008/39). Security Council Report One Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza, 885 Second Avenue, 31st Floor, New York, NY 10017 T:1 212 759 9429 F:1 212 759 4038 www.securitycouncilreport.org OVERVIEW FOR APRIL (continued) Debates are also possible on: likely following the elections on 10 April. progress); n Kosovo (depending on developments in n Haiti (report and briefing on MINUSTAH In addition, consultations or briefings are the region); progress); and expected on: n Somalia (to adopt a Council response to the n Chad (depending on developments). n Lebanon (progress with the tribunal, Secretary-General’s “strategic approach” the 1559 report and to respond to On Myanmar, it remains to be seen whether presented on 14 March. But much will developments); consultations at the expert level on a draft depend on progress in negotiations); n Cote d’Ivoire (the Secretary-General’s presidential statement will resume in April n Ethiopia/Eritrea (Major decisions on the report on progress towards the elections); and whether Myanmar will be in the footnote future of the force may need to be taken); n DPRK (North Korea) (to hear a report to the April programme of work. and from the Chairman of the Sanctions n Counter-Terrorism (to renew the man- On Uganda, the Special Envoy of the Committee); date of the 1540 Committee and its group Secretary-General for the Lord’s Resistance n Sierra Leone (report and briefing on of experts). Army (LRA)-affected areas, Joaquim UNIOSIL progress); Chissano, may brief the Council. A public meeting or a briefing on Nepal is n Liberia (report and briefing on UNMIL Status Update since our March Forecast Recent developments on the situations experts followed and Council consultations when necessary for technical cooperation covered in this Forecast are addressed in the were scheduled to discuss the draft on 6 with the IAEA. The resolution invited mem- relevant briefs. Interesting developments in March. The US introduced a press state- ber states to inspect carefully materials the Council on other issues included: ment condemning the terrorist attack travelling to and from Iran via Iranian n Middle East: Council members held a against Jerusalem’s Mercaz Harav Yeshiva cargoes. New discretionary measures also weekend session on 1 and 2 March to dis- which killed 8 students and took place just included a call to increase scrutiny of activi- cuss the growing violence in the Gaza Strip before the scheduled consultations. It ties of “financial institutions in their territories and southern Israel in response to a Libyan seems that the US reluctance to engage in with all banks domiciled in Iran,” as well as request for a meeting to address the situa- discussions on the draft resolution before vigilance in granting export credits to Iran. tion (S/2008/142). During the meeting, adopting the press statement, or to incor- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addressed porate language on the situation in Gaza in On 17 March, the Chairman of the 1737 the Council. He condemned and called for the statement, coupled with Libya’s refusal Sanctions Committee on Iran, Belgian an end to rocket attacks from Gaza that to adopt any text not mentioning the Ambassador Johan Verbeke, briefed the endangered the lives of Israeli civilians. humanitarian disaster in Gaza and the fail- Council on the activities of the Committee Additionally, while recognising Israel’s right ure to agree on holding discussions on the (S/PV.5853). He noted that 88 countries had to self-defense, he condemned what he two texts in parallel, once again paralysed so far submitted reports to the Committee called Israel’s “disproportionate and exces- the Council. under resolution 1737, and 72 submitted sive use of force” and called on Israel to reports under resolution 1747. He also - “cease such attacks” (S/PV.5847). The On 25 March, the Council held its monthly emphasized that resolution 1803 broad ened the scope of the