The UN Security Council is scheduled to discuss the issues of regional hot-spots, such as Afghanistan, Somalia, Nepal, Cote d'Ivoire, Sudan and the Middle East, the president of the Council said here on Tuesday, Xinhua reported.
Zhang Yesui, the Chinese permanent representative to the United Nations who holds the rotating Council presidency for January, told a press conference here that the regional hot-spots are on the agenda of the Security Council, which adopted the program of work for this month on Tuesday morning.
The 15-nation Security Council is to meet in an open debate on Wednesday to review a report of UN Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon on the current situation in Afghanistan and the work of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
Ban is to be present at the open Council meeting to hear the briefing of his special representative for Afghanistan, Kai Eide, Zhang said, adding that this will be the last briefing at the Security Council by Eide in his current capacity.
On Somalia, the Security Council is scheduled to vote a draft resolution to renew the mandate of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), which is to expire on Jan. 31, he said.
On Nepal, Zhang said, the Security Council is to vote on a draft resolution to extend the mandate of the UN Mission in Nepal, which is to expire on Jan. 23. He added that the Security Council will approve the extension at the request of the government of Nepal.
UNMIN is a special political mission in support of the peace process in Nepal. It was established by Security Council Resolution 1740 on Jan. 23, 2007.
On Cote d'Ivoire, Zhang said that the Security Council will hear the briefing on the work of the United Nations Operation in Cote d'Ivoire (UNOCI), and the Council is expected to vote on a draft resolution to renew the mandate of the UNOCI on Jan. 28.
The issue of Kosovo remains an important item on the agenda of the Security Council, which will hear the briefing by Lamberto Zannier, the secretary-general's special representative for Kosovo and head of the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIS), on Jan. 22, he said.
The Security Council will meet behind closed doors on the situation in Sudan, which will see a national election this year and a referendum in the south next year, he said.
"Basically, the Security Council meets on the situation in the Middle East every month in recent years," Zhang said. "For this month, the Security Council will hold an open debate on the issue of Middle East."