INTERNATIONAL: Security Council to focus on security sector reform

The United Nations Security Council will focus on security sector reform and women's role in peace and security in October, a senior official said here on Tuesday. Joy Ogwu, permanent representative of Nigeria to the UN and the president of the Security Council for October, made the remarks at a press briefing. Nigeria is one of the 10 non-permanent members of the UN Security Council. The first council open debate slated for Oct. 12 will be on security sector reform which has been initiated by the Nigerian presidency. It will draw input from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon on security reform. "In this we seek to determine how the security sector reform engagements could benefit from conflict prevention approaches as well as amplification of the perspectives of societies in which those reforms are being undertaken," said Ogwu, adding that such debates are quite relevant to the African continent.

"This debate is of critical importance to Africa and given the fact that Africa takes a significant proportion of the agenda of the Security Council we thought that we should review, examine, and find a way forward in this sector," said Ogwu. In late October, there will be Council debate on women, peace and security. In 2000, the Security Council passed Resolution 1325, declaring a desire for more female participation in peacekeeping operations and the process of peace making and conflict prevention. "Our intention is to accentuate the critical role and participation of women in conflict prevention all over the world. This role has remained largely either unacknowledged or undocumented," said Ogwu. The council will hold an open debate on Oct. 24 on the situation in the Middle East.

Aside from open debates, the peace and security body will hold consultations on topics such as sanctions on Cote d'Ivoire, the recently established UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), and the situations in conflict-torn Libya and Somalia. The Security Council is composed of five permanent members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, and 10 non- permanent members, which are elected by the UN General Assembly for a two-year term. Under the UN Charter, the Security Council has the primary responsibility for maintaining peace and security in the world at large.