OREANDA-NEWS. August 02, 2010. The Russian Federation takes over the presidency of the United Nations Security Council on August 1. Even a cursory look at the work program of the main UN body for one month clearly demonstrates that our presidency, despite the traditional vacation period in the UN, will be quite busy both in number of questions submitted for discussion and in their implications for the future of international security and stability. It is planned that in August the UN Security Council will focus on four major clusters of issues: Kosovo, the Middle East, African issues including combating piracy, as well as UN peacekeeping.

On August 3, a formal Security Council meeting on Kosovo will be held with the participation of the head of the foreign affairs agency of Serbia, Vuk Jeremic. Discussion of the report the UN Secretary General on the activities of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo will take place at a very critical period for the future of the region, and the entire system of international relations, just two weeks after the rendering by the UN International Court of Justice of its advisory opinion that the Declaration of Independence adopted on 17 February 2008 by the Kosovo Assembly is in accordance with international law. The ICJ, however, evaluated only the Declaration proper, specifically noting that it did not consider the broader context of the right of the Kosovo Albanians to self-determination and secession from Serbia unilaterally. The Court also did not address the consequences of the adoption of this document, in particular whether Kosovo is a state or if the province’s recognition by a number of countries is legal. Our principled approach to the Kosovo issue stands unchanged, it is based on our confirmation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Serbia, and the need for strict compliance with UNSC resolution 1244, which remains a universally mandatory legal framework of Kosovo settlement, for ensuring security in the province and not recognizing the unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo.

On August 4, the Council is scheduled to meet for a briefing and consultation on the activities of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), and one day later for the extension of its mandate for another year.

The Council on August 5 will discuss the activities of the United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy in Central Asia. The relevance for the countries of the region and the timeliness of the creation of this mechanism of preventive diplomacy have been convincingly confirmed by the events of recent months in Kyrgyzstan, when the Centre played a significant role in de-escalation of tensions in the country and in the coordination of a balanced and prompt response of the international community to what was happening.

On August 6, an open Security Council meeting on UN peacekeeping will be held in which the commanders of the military contingents of a number of UN peacekeeping operations are due to speak. Holding the meeting in this format seems to us very relevant from a practical point of view, particularly since improving the quality of military expertise in the preparation of decisions on peacekeeping is one of the key ways of increasing the efficiency of UN peacekeeping. Hence, by the way, our initiative on the need to revitalize the Military Staff Committee, a subsidiary body of the Security Council.

On August 10, members of the Council will consider the activities of the UN Mission in the CAR and Chad. As requested by the Chadian authorities in May, it was decided to complete this operation before the end of this year, although a difficult humanitarian situation and high risks for the security of the civilian population still remain in the east of the country. On the other hand, the Council must take into account the opinion of a host country in such matters. Let us hope that in such circumstances all parties concerned will exercise increased restraint and invest further effort in promoting regional stability and rectifying the situation in the Sudan-Chad-CAR triangle.

On August 17 a discussion of the Middle East situation will be held. The Palestinian-Israeli settlement process is today in a very delicate stage of indirect talks, and despite all the difficulties, we remain hopeful that eventually it will develop into a phase of direct dialogue. Without this, achieving sustainable peace in the region will be impossible. In this context, we would like to once again stress the continued relevance of our proposal to convene a Middle East conference in Moscow, when the necessary conditions emerge.

A series of activities is planned for Lebanon, which includes a meeting with troop contributors to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (August 19) and consultation on this issue (August 25), as well as the adoption of a resolution extending the mandate of the force (August 30).

A public meeting on piracy off the coast of Somalia will be held on August 26. In this context, we attach particular importance to a thorough analysis of the UN Secretary General's report prepared pursuant to SCR 1918, on possible ways to facilitate prosecution and punishment of those responsible for acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia. In our view, the report, which is a good basis for further work toward this end, provides a detailed overview of the advantages and disadvantages of particular solutions to this problem, including the creation of additional mechanisms – in the form of a regional or international tribunal – for the trial of pirates. It is important that the fight against impunity and the search for a durable solution in this area are recognized as a key factor predetermining the effectiveness of efforts to curb the piracy menace. We are still of the opinion that the best solution to ensuring the inevitability of punishment for perpetrators of acts of piracy would be the establishment of an international judicial mechanism at the regional level, the jurisdiction of which would be complementary to national jurisdiction.

In general, we have in mind using our August presidency of the Security Council to further improve the efficiency of this UN body in the prevention and peaceful settlement of conflicts, and to deepen its cooperation in these sectors with other UN organs and agencies, and also regional organizations while strictly observing the statutory prerogatives and powers of the Council.