Highlights of Slovenia’s activities in the UN Security Council in July 2024

SLOVENIA, August 1 - On 8 July, Slovenia, with the support of Guyana, South Korea and Sierra Leone, hosted an informal Arria-formula meeting entitled "Stepping up Preventive Action: From Environmental Challenges to Opportunities for Peace". Chaired by Ambassador Samuel Žbogar, the meeting featured a panel of three moderators - Amy Pope, IOM Director General, Hanna Tetteh, Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for the Horn of Africa, and Nohora Alejandra Quiguantar, an indigenous youth leader and environmental human rights defender from Colombia. 

The meeting brought together all members of the UN Security Council, the Group of Friends of Environmental Management (LEAF), the European Union, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), INTERPOL and 23 other Member States from all regional groups. By convening this meeting, Slovenia addressed three key thematic priorities of its work in the UN Security Council - conflict prevention; climate; peace and security; and women, peace and security.

Additionally, Slovenia, in collaboration with the Colombian briefer, organised an informal meeting of Security Council members to discuss environmental challenges and peace in Colombia. This meeting served as a substantive follow-up to the Security Council debate on the situation in Colombia.

The Security Council also reviewed the situations in Haiti, Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cyprus and West Africa. It noted the situation in Afghanistan following Doha3 and received a briefing from the Head of the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia.

In July, the Security Council adopted four resolutions: extending the mandate of UN Mission to Support the Hudaydah Agreement in Yemen (UNMHA) for 12 months; extending the mandate of the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) for one year; lifting the arms embargo on the Central African Republic (CAR) government forces while imposing an arms embargo on armed groups operating in the CAR; and extending the sanctions regime on the CAR for one year. Additionally, the Security Council enhanced the Focal Point mechanism within sanctions regimes by strengthening the role of the Focal Point for delisting and establishing a new, clearer procedure. This improvement will be supported by the collection of information on sanctioned individuals and the submission of a comprehensive report to the relevant Sanctions Committee.

In a press statement, the Security Council welcomed the planned talks on Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) delegations in Geneva. The Council also expressed support for the efforts of Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy Lamamra, who briefed the Security Council on 29 July regarding the outcomes of the talks and the mediators' consultations in Djibouti and outlined the proposed way forward.

The Security Council also issued a press statement on Colombia, summarising the key points from the debate held earlier this month. In this statement, Security Council members expressed their full support for Colombia and urged continued, concerted action by Colombian institutions to expedite the full implementation of the Peace Agreement.