Trump plans to hold UNSC meeting on Iran later this month: Haley

United Nations: US President Donald Trump plans to chair a meeting of the UN Security Council later this month to discuss Iran’s alleged violations of international law, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has said. Haley, who assumed the Presidency of the Security Council for the month of September, told reporters here Tuesday that Trump intends to chair a meeting of the 15-nation UN body on Iran on September 26.

The US pulled out of the landmark Iran nuclear deal in May, saying it failed to put enough pressure on Tehran regime to halt its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programme. Washington has sought to build up international pressure on Iran after reimposing tough and unilateral sanctions on August 7 and setting a November5 deadline for halting Iran’s oil exports.

“He (Trump) is calling the meeting to address Iran’s violations of international law and the general instability Iran sows throughout the entire Middle East region,” Haley said as she briefed reporters about the Council’s programme of work for the month. On the meeting on Iran, she said the message to Tehran is that the world is watching its actions, whether supporting terrorism, launching ballistic missiles or selling weapons.

Another highlight of the US Presidency of the Council will be an update on efforts to make peacekeeping missions more effective, efficient and accountable, the US Permanent Representative to the UN said.  Through the debate on peacekeeping on September 12, the US will focus on improving peacekeeping performance including eliminating sexual exploitation and abuse, she added.

“In yet another first, we will be introducing a resolution on peacekeeping that would require the UN to hold peacekeepers, troop and police contributing countries and the Secretariat accountable for performance failures,” she said.On September 24, Trump will kick off a high-level event on counter-narcotics, making a “global call to action” on the world drug problem.

Haley said the Presidency of the Security Council this month under the Trump Administration will be a “Presidency of Firsts”, and as part of this all meetings and events will be held in the open chamber, which is “part of our push for transparency and accountability for the Security Council”.She said a briefing on corruption and conflict are among the highlights of the Security Council’s work in the month ahead. 

The 15-member Council will also hold its first-ever meeting on the situation in Nicaragua on Wednesday when they will hear a briefing by a representative of the Organization of American States (OAS). She emphasised the importance to the Council of regular updates relating to developments on the ground, since human rights are closely linked to peace and security.

She added that on September 10, the Council will hear a briefing on how corruption has become a cross-cutting issue that undermines stability around the world. “It is a fundamental cause for conflict that the Council should be addressing,” she said, citing Tunisia, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo as countries destabilised by corruption.

Turning to regular Council business, she said it plans three briefings on Syria, with the meeting on September 6 focusing on the use of chemical weapons in that country, followed by a briefing on the situation in Idlib.

Responding to questions, she said the Council continues to shed light on the situation in Myanmar, where the Government is still in denial of events there. The Council must make hard decisions in that regard, she added.

On the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, she emphasised the importance of sanctions under Security Council resolutions, and added that “Russia and China are not exempted” from implementing the measures.