UNITAR New York Holds Orientation Seminar for New Members of the Security Council

11-12 November, 2014, New York, USA - The UNITAR New York Office held a special orientation course on the Security Council for the Council’s new Members. The course aimed to familiarise new Members with the issues before the Council as well as its working methods, in order to prepare them for the start of their mandate on 1 January 2015. Over forty delegates from the new non-permanent Member states attended the seminar, which featured presentations from senior Secretariat staff, current Council Members, senior UN representatives from UN departments and agencies as well as academia.  The Permanent Mission of Finland joined in the opening to ensure complementarity with Finland's private orientation.

Over the two-day event, delegates were introduced to the functions, practices and procedures central to the operation of the Council. They were briefed on subjects such as the role of the President of the Council, the practice of informal consultations, and the standards expected of statement writing. In addition, representatives from the Permanent Missions of Rwanda, Luxembourg and Chile, each with recent experience on the Council, shared their expertise on practice, etiquette and procedure. Through roundtable discussions, the new delegates were able to ask questions of outgoing Members, who in turn were able to pass on their experience and expertise.

The seminar also included briefs by senior staff UN departments who work in areas relevant to the Council’s mandate. Delegates were briefed by high-level figures for numerous departments, including the heads of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the Peacebuilding Support Office. Heads of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the New York Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees also briefed delegates on their responsibilities regarding the protection of human rights and refugees. In addition to providing a summary of these core areas dealing with peace and security, these sessions also ensured that delegates were aware of the support and resources available to them from within the UN system.

The seminar also provided critical briefings into a number of heightened thematic concerns relevant to the next session of the Council. These issues included women and security, protection of civilians and responsibility to protect,  the impact of infectious disease, such as Ebola, on security, and the spread of extremism. With these briefings, delegates received timely and expert insight into some of the issues that will likely influence the agenda of the next Council. Critically, these sessions demonstrated the breadth of the current security agenda, especially given the rise of non-traditional and non-state threats to peace and stability.

By the seminar’s conclusion, delegates had received a thorough introduction to the Council’s workings and its mandate. By equipping the new Members with the expertise needed to fulfil their mandate, it is hoped that the session contributed to a more effective and more representative Council.

Photo: Assistant Secretary-General For Peacebuilding Support, Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, briefs delegates