Nicolas de Rivière, Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations and President of Security Council for the month of September 2022 at UN world headquarters in New York. (Photo Credit: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe)
By Gary Raynaldo DIPLOMATIC TIMES
UNITED NATIONS – NEW YORK – FRANCE officially took over as President of the UN Security Council Thursday for the month of September with a focus on the conflict in Ukraine. Nicolas de Rivière, French UN ambassador and president of the Council for September laid out the Council’s programme of work for the month during a press briefing with reporters at UN headquarters in New York. Ambassador De Rivière said the situation in Ukraine will be at the heart of the Security Council’s considerations during the month of September. France’s presidency of the Council also coincides with the UN General Assembly’s High Level week beginning the 19th of September. The Security Council expected to hold a high-level briefing on the Russian-Ukraine conflict, as fighting enters its seventh month and hostilities remain concentrated in Ukraine’s eastern and southern regions.
“The challenges that the Council faces are well known. France continues to support strong and effective multilateralism. France, as you know, had the presidency of the European Union in the first half of 2022. In September, we are taking over the Presidency of the Security Council. We are going to have the usual meetings on the Middle East, Syria, Libya, and Yemen of course. There will also be a number of meetings on Africa, particularly Sudan, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”
-Nicolas de Rivière, Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations
Security Situation of Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine “Worrisome”
Ambassador de Rivière said the security situation of the nuclear power plant in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia is extremely worrisome. Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) arrived in Zaporizhzhia on Wednesday, the latest stage in their efforts to inspect conditions at the embattled nuclear power plant there. The IAEA chief Rafael Mariano Grossi expressed confidence that they will be able to safely conduct their technical mission, which follows months of consultations amid fears of a potential catastrophe at Europe’s largest nuclear facility. The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has been occupied by Russian forces since the early weeks of the conflict and has come under repeated shelling in recent weeks.
“As this extremely worrying matter of the nuclear security of the nuclear power plant in Ukraine. There were grounds to be extremely worried about the situation in Zaporizhzhia. The United Nations has mobilized the IAEA which we very strongly support as being able to get access to the nuclear power plant. And it ‘s very important that the IAEA be able to fully carry out its mandate in Ukraine on the subject of nuclear power plants,” -France Ambassador de Rivière.
The French envoy said there will be discussions with Russia in the UN Security Council this month on the situation of the IAEA’s mandate regarding the nuclear power plant as Russia requested a meeting on the subject.
In early September, the Security Council will also hold a briefing on peacekeeping reform pursuant to resolution 2378 of 20 September 2017. Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix is the anticipated briefer.
African Issues on the Programme of Work in September Are:
• Democratic Republic of the Congo, briefing and consultations on the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO)
• Libya, consultations and the renewal of resolution 2240 to inspect and seize vessels smuggling migrants
• Somalia, briefing and consultations on the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM)
• South Sudan, briefing and consultations on the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS)
-Sudan, briefing and consultations on the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) and the 1591 Sudan Sanctions Committee
Middle Eastern issues on the Programme Are:
• Iraq, renewal of the mandate of the UN Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh/ISIL (UNITAD)
• Yemen, consultations
• Syria, monthly meetings on the political, humanitarian and chemical weapons tracks, as well as an informal interactive dialogue (IID) in accordance with resolution 2642 of 12 July
• Middle East, including the Palestinian question, the monthly meeting
There will also be the quarterly briefing and consultations on the UN Assistance Mission in
Afghanistan (UNAMA).
Ambassador de Rivière said that as president of the UN Security Council, France will uphold its commitments on the “Women, Peace and Security” agenda by inviting women from the civil society to brief the Council and with a meeting focusing on the situation of women in Afghanistan.
