Guyana's UN Security Council Presidency: June 2025 Program of Work Briefing

Guyana's June Security Council Agenda

• 🗓️ Guyana assumes the Presidency of the UN Security Council for June 2025, outlining a program of work adopted this morning.
• 🌍 The council is scheduled for 29 meetings, with a focus on mandated country-specific issues and thematic priorities.

Key Thematic Priorities

• 🕊️ Conflict prevention, the security-development nexus, women, peace, and security, and climate, peace, and security are central to Guyana's agenda.
• 👶 The annual Children and Armed Conflict debate on June 25th will address trends identified in 2024, with the Secretary-General's report expected to highlight worrying patterns.

Signature Event: Poverty, Underdevelopment, and Conflict

• 📈 On June 19th, Guyana will host a high-level open debate on poverty and underdevelopment and their implications for international peace and security.
• 🤝 This meeting, chaired by President Dr. Muhammad Irfaan Ali, aims to build upon previous discussions regarding the security-development nexus and address poverty as a driver and consequence of conflict.
• 🌍 The event is considered timely given the upcoming 80th anniversary of the UN and the unlikelihood of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

Country-Specific and Thematic Meetings

• 🗺️ Country-specific meetings will cover Syria (including chemical weapons and political/humanitarian situations), Iraq, Central Africa, Sudan, Libya, UNOF, and Yemen.
• ⚖️ A meeting pursuant to resolution 2334 will address Israeli settlements on Palestinian territories.
• ⚛️ A thematic meeting on non-proliferation will focus on the implementation of resolution 2331 concerning the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Council Products and Future Engagements

• 📝 Two adoptions are scheduled: the renewal of DRC sanctions and the UNOF mandate renewal on June 30th.
• 🤝 An informal meeting with the European Union peace and security committee will occur on June 3rd to discuss threats and multilateralism.
• 🌐 Guyana advocates for UN Security Council reform, emphasizing the need for greater representation and potentially a permanent seat for Africa, while questioning the continued relevance of the veto power.

Addressing Press Inquiries

• 🇵🇸 Regarding Palestine, Guyana supports the two-state solution and hopes the upcoming conference will bring concrete outcomes, emphasizing that occupation and colonization are unacceptable.
• 🇺🇦 Meetings on Ukraine are expected due to requests from member states.
• 🇸🇾 On Syria, while collaboration on the chemical weapons file is progressing, a definitive resolution is not yet in sight. Guyana advocates for UN accompaniment to ensure minority rights are protected.
• 🇮🇱 The council has not discussed imposing sanctions on Israel at this time.