Romania’s mandate with the Security Council started on January 6, 2004

Romania’s two-year mandate with the UN Security Council started effectively with the Council’s formal session on January 6. Alongside the representatives of the other 14 member states, the Romanian delegation approved the working schedule of the Security Council for the current month. The political debates will approach the peace process in the Middle East, Afghanistan’s democratization, the post-conflict reconstruction in Central and Western Africa (Sierra Leone, Liberia, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo), the Ethiopian-Eritrean dialogue.

The situation in Iraq will be at the center of the Security Council’s concerns. On January 19, representatives of the leadership of the Iraq Governing Council will meet with Secretary General Kofi Annan for consultations at the UN Headquarters in New York. The Council will decide with regard to the UN peacekeeping missions which will end their mandate during January: the missions in Western Sahara (MINURSO), Georgia (UNOMIG), and Liberia (UNIFIL). In the context of the progress registered by the peace process in Côte d’Ivoire, the Council will assess the mission in this country, where Romania participates with military observers.

Examining ways to consolidate and increase the efficiency of the Council’s structures created or extended after the September 11 events, respectively the Counter-Terrorism Committee and the Committee on Al-Qaeda and the Talibans, appears as a separate item on January agenda.

The Security Council reunions scheduled for January will also include debates on issues of global interest, such as maintaining international peace and security, small-caliber weapons, children in armed conflicts and national reconciliation in post-conflict situations.