UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Security Council will highlight UN cooperation with regional organizations and the settlement of African problems in September, Vassily Nebenzia, Russia's UN ambassador and president of the Security Council for the month, said Tuesday.
"The Council is planning two minister-level meetings in September respectively on cooperation between the United Nations and regional and sub-regional organizations, and on peace and security in Africa," the Russian ambassador told a press conference held at the UN headquarters in New York.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is expected to preside, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres may brief, at both meetings.
The presidency of the UN Security Council rotates monthly among its members according to the alphabetical order of the names of the countries in English. Russia took the rotating presidency of the Council on Sept. 1 from Poland.
Russia's presidency coincides with the opening of the 74th session of the General Assembly (September 17) and its most important part, the high-level week.
The Council is also expected to have its comprehensive annual briefing on the reform of UN peacekeeping from Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix, followed by a debate.
Another debate scheduled for September is for the quarterly meeting on Afghanistan. The Council will renew the mandate of the UN Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), which expires on Sept. 17.
An adoption is also anticipated to renew the mandate of UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), which expires on Sept. 15.
A review of the mandate of the UN Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da'esh/ISIL is also anticipated in September.
Other Middle East issues that will be considered in September include Middle East regular briefings and consultations; monthly briefings on the humanitarian situation, the political process and the use of chemical weapons in Syria; and monthly briefing on the implementation of resolutions 2451 and 2452 concerning Yemen.
The Council will also be watching developments in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Iran and Myanmar.
In September, the heads of government and state, and other high-ranking officials from UN member-states will deliver their speeches at the organization and hold multilateral and bilateral talks on the most pressing issues of the international agenda.
The Council's president is tasked with drawing up the program of the organization, which under Article 24 of the UN Charter, holds the responsibility for maintaining international peace and security, while other UN members must observe these resolutions. The president also makes decisions regarding the requests for holding emergency meetings.
