Africa is high on the agenda of the Security Council’s program of work in December as Cote d’Ivoire takes over the council’s presidency for the month. There will be a debate among Security Council members on post-conflict reconstruction on Wednesday, which will be attended by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and African Union Commission Chairman Moussa Faki, said Cote d’Ivoire’s ambassador to the United Nations Leon Adom. The council debate would be followed by an open debate -- a debate that includes non-Security Council members -- on cooperation between the United Nations and regional and subregional groups for the purpose of conflict prevention and resolution. Thursday’s open debate will be chaired by Cote d’Ivoire’s Foreign Minister Marcel Amon Tanoh with the participation of Guterres and Faki as well as Marcel Alain de Souza, the president of the Commission of the Economic Community of West African States, a key player in regional peacekeeping and peacebuilding, said Adom. Both debates would focus heavily on Africa as shown by the high-level representation. Half of the 14 UN peacekeeping operations are in Africa, including the largest and most costly ones. In addition to the two “flagship events,” the Security Council will also hold briefings or consultations on Guinea Bissau, South Sudan, the Sahel region and the Central African Republic, said Adom. “Ending the crises in these countries as well as the security and humanitarian situations will be at the heart of our briefings and consultations.” Also on the Security Council agenda is the Middle East, particularly Syria, said Adom. UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura will brief the council for the last time before he steps down by the end of the year. De Mistura has expressed disappointment at the lack of progress on the issue of a constitutional committee for Syria at last week’s Astana meeting between Russia, Turkey and Iran -- the leading countries of the Astana process, a parallel process to the UN-led Geneva process. He had insisted on convening the constitutional committee by Dec. 31. Xinhua
