Russia’s presidency of the Security Council was important for bringing to the attention of the international organization a number of critical issues facing the international community with serious ramifications for geopolitical stability.

Russia held the presidency of the United Nations Security Council for the month of August 2010. The Russian presidency was just as intense as it was promising to be at the outset. During the month of August numerous multilateral discussions on topics of great concern to the international community were held within the Security Council.    

As Alexander Yakovenko, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia noted, the Russian presidency featured many important meetings and negotiations, even though August is usually considered to be the month when U.N. diplomats go on vacation. The importance of the issues Russia brought to the attention of the Security Council for the achievement of global geopolitical stability cannot be underestimated. In August, the Security Council addressed four major sets of problems, including the issues of Kosovo, the Middle East, the African continent (including piracy), and the U.N. peacekeeping missions.

The Security Council took up the situation in Kosovo on August 3. The Special Representative and head of the Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), Lamberto Zannier, briefed the Council following the issuance of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) opinion on the legality of Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence. Mr. Zannier noted that the ICJ reaffirmed that Kosovo remained subject to the interim administration of the U.N. and resolution 1244 (1999) and the UNMIK’s Constitutional Framework in Kosovo continued to apply. He also introduced the latest report on the UNMIK.

Next, on August 4, the Security Council was given a briefing and held consultations on the situation with the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). The Security Council extended the mandate of UNAMI for another year, until July 31, 2011, calling on member-states for continued support. 

In early August the Security Council under the leadership of Russia also considered the activities of the U.N. Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia. Among other issues, the Security Council addressed the developments in Kyrgyzstan, concluding that the recent revolution in that republic underscored the need for preventive diplomacy mechanism. It was specifically noted that the Central Asian Center for Preventive Diplomacy had an important part in deescalating tensions in Kyrgyzstan during the period of social upheavals.

On August 6, the Security Council organized an open discussion on the issues confronting the United Nations peacekeeping forces. United Nations peacekeeping operations have entered a consolidation phase, allowing the world body to focus on such objectives as enhancing efficiency, as well as planning and oversight. In an open meeting attended by many of the force commanders of the U.N.’s 15 missions, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Alain Le Roy noted that there are nearly 120 000 peacekeepers deployed around the world – 84 000 military, 13 000 police, and 22 000 civil personnel.

Russia believes that the organization of a meeting on peacekeeping served important practical purposes. Russia has also stepped up the activity of the Military Staff Committee established under the auspices of the Security Council.

On August 10, the Security Council held talks on the future of the U.N. Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad. The Security Council had before it a report of the Secretary-General. Previously, the Council approved a plan for the withdrawal of the Mission by December 31, 2010 and asked for an assessment of the transition phase in eastern Chad, as well as an evaluation of the consequences of the withdrawal of the U.N. contingent from the Central African Republic, along with regional and international options for that country.

On August 17, Security Council members discussed the problems in the Middle East, with the specific focus on the Israeli-Palestinian situation. On August 20, the Quartet (the U.N., E.U., U.S., and Russia) issued a statement indicating that direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations were expected to begin in early September in Washington, D.C. with a one-year time limit. Additionally, a summit with U.S. President Barack Obama, King Abdullah of Jordan, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and Quartet Representative Tony Blair was set to begin in September to help revive direct talks between Israel and Palestine. Previous direct talks were terminated after Israeli incursions into Gaza in December 2008. Russia also proposed to convene a conference on the Middle East in Moscow.

With Russia at its helm, the Security Council also conducted discussions on Lebanon and the United Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL) currently deployed there. Through the unanimous adoption of resolution 1937, the Council decided to extend UNIFIL’s mandate until August 31, 2011 without amendment. The Security Council noted that its decision was based on the requests coming from the Government of Lebanon and the United Nations’ Secretary-General.

The Security Council also conducted a session on curtailing the threat posed by Somali pirates. The Russian mission scrupulously analyzed the report of the U.N. Secretary-General implementing resolution 1918 to provide for the judicial prosecution and punishment of criminals responsible for acts of piracy near the coast of Somalia.

The debate on Somali piracy at the Security Council was held on August 25. The U.N. Secretary-General announced the appointment of a special advisor on legal issues related to piracy off the coast of Somalia, while the Council  adopted a presidential statement, initiated by Russia, that expressed the Council’s continued concern with the piracy threat and its belief that those responsible for acts of piracy must be prosecuted. Russia commended ongoing efforts to prosecute suspected pirates, stressing the need for these efforts to continue. Among the options talked about for prosecuting the pirates were proposals for creating special domestic chambers, possibly with international components; establishing a regional tribunal or an international tribunal and corresponding imprisonment arrangements; following the existing practice in establishing international and mixed tribunals, taking into account the work of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia; as well as providing the resources necessary to achieve and sustain substantive results in counter-piracy efforts. As there are still some differences among Security Council members regarding the prosecution and incarceration of pirates, the decision on which course of action to take was left for a later session of the U.N. body.

 Overall, Russia’s presidency of the Security Council was important for bringing to the attention of the international organization critical issues facing the community of nations that present serious ramifications for global stability. Russian diplomats also made efforts to increase the level of cooperation of the Security Council and other U.N. institutions and regional organizations, all the while adhering to the Council’s mandates spelled out in the charter of the United Nations.