Guyana assumes Presidency of UN Security Council; Pres. Ali to chair high-level debate on June 19

Guyana assumed the Presidency of the United Nations Security Council on Sunday, June 1, 2025, for one month.

The packed schedule for the month includes several mandated meetings of the Council, including on Syria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Afghanistan, Central Africa, Sudan, Libya, and Yemen. There will also be a mandated meeting on Resolution 2334 regarding Israeli settlements on Palestinian territories.

On June 19, Guyana’s President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali will chair a High-Level Open Debate on “Poverty, Underdevelopment and Conflict: Implications for the Maintenance of International Peace and Security,” featuring briefers from the United Nations system and the African Union, and participation from a number of UN Member States. The debate will build upon previous discussions in the Council on the relationship between sustainable development and international peace and security, zeroing in on poverty and underdevelopment as both drivers and consequences of conflict. It comes at a time when armed conflicts are increasing and the Sustainable Development Goals are not on track to be achieved by 2030.

Guyana will also organize the annual Children and Armed Conflict Open Debate on June 25. In addition to briefings from the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba, and UNICEF Executive Director, Catherine Russell, the debate will feature statements from Member States in reaction to the Secretary-General’s annual report on Children and Armed Conflict.

Guyana will also focus the Council’s attention on some of its priority areas, including conflict prevention and the security-development nexus, the impacts of climate change on peace and security, the protection of children in armed conflict, and the women, peace and security agenda.
Council members are expected to adopt the Programme of Work on Monday June 2nd, following which Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, will brief the media on the Programme and plans for the Presidency.

Guyana was elected to the Security Council for a term of two years from January 2024 to December 2025. Prior to its current term, Guyana served on the Council in 1975-1976 and 1982-1983 (Modified release from the Permanent Mission of Guyana to the United Nations)