Note by the President of the Security Council 1. In efforts to enhance the efficiency and transparency of the Council’s work, as well as interaction and dialogue with non-Council members, the members of the Security Council are committed to implementing the measures described in the annex to the present note. 2. The annex is intended to be a concise and user-friendly list of the recent practices and newly agreed measures, which will serve as guidance for the Council’s work. In this regard, some existing measures are recollected herein for the convenience of users, which are so indicated throughout the annex. 3. The present note enriches and further develops notes and statements by the President of the Security Council relating to documentation and procedure listed in the note by the President of the Security Council of 7 February 2006 (S/2006/78), by supplementing and in some cases superseding them. Working methods regarding sanctions committees and troop-contributing countries will continue to be governed by the notes and statements by the President of the Security Council listed in the above-mentioned note unless otherwise addressed in the present note. 4. The members of the Council will continue their consideration of the Council’s documentation and other procedural questions in the Informal Working Group on Documentation and Other Procedural Questions and other subsidiary bodies of the Council. The present note covers only the work done by the above-mentioned Working Group. Annex Contents I. Agenda* 3 II. Briefings 3 III. Documentation 4 IV. Informal consultations 5 V. Meetings 5 VI. Programme of work 8 VII. Resolutions and presidential statements 9 VIII. Subsidiary bodies 10 IX. Matters of which the Council is seized* 10 X. Communication with the Secretariat and outside 11 XI. Annual report* 11 XII. Newly elected members 13 * Recollected from previous note(s) by the President of the Security Council. Most of the provisions under the other headings are newly agreed by the Security Council. I. Agenda* * Recollected from previous note(s) by the President of the Security Council. 1. The provisional agenda for formal meetings of the Council should be included in the Journal of the United Nations provided that it has been approved in informal consultations. 2. The members of the Council recall the desirability, whenever possible, of using descriptive formulations of agenda items at the time of their initial adoption to avoid having a number of separate agenda items on the same subject. When such a descriptive formulation exists, consideration may be given to subsuming earlier agenda items on the same subject under the descriptive formulation. II. Briefings 3. The members of the Security Council agree that the President of the Council or his or her designate should provide substantive and detailed briefings to Member States in a timely manner. Such briefings should take place shortly after informal consultations of the whole. The members of the Security Council encourage the President of the Council to provide the attending Member States with copies of statements that he or she makes to the media following the informal consultations, if appropriate. 4. The members of the Security Council encourage the President of the Council to hold an informal briefing on the programme of work open to all Member States, after its adoption by the Council. 5. The members of the Security Council invite Chairs of the subsidiary bodies of the Security Council or their designates to give, on a regular basis, informal briefings, when appropriate, on their activities to interested Member States. The members of the Security Council agree that the time and place of such briefings should be published in the Journal of the United Nations. 6. The members of the Security Council intend to continue to consider requesting the Secretariat to give an ad hoc briefing at Security Council meetings in cases in which an emergent situation which justifies a briefing arises. 7. The members of the Security Council intend to request the Secretariat to give ad hoc briefings at informal consultations on a daily basis, if necessary, when a situation justifies such briefings. 8. The members of the Security Council invite the Secretariat to continue its practice of circulating the briefing texts at “Briefings”. 9. The members of the Security Council invite the Secretariat, as a general rule, to provide a printed fact sheet, presentation materials and/or any other relevant reference materials, whenever possible, to Council members on the day prior to the consultations, when briefings in the Security Council consultations room are not given on the basis of a written report. III. Documentation 10. The members of the Security Council intend to intensify their efforts to publicize decisions and other relevant information of the Council and its subsidiary bodies to the Member States and other organizations through correspondence, websites, outreach activities and other means, when appropriate. The members of the Security Council intend to continue to examine ways to enhance its activities in this regard. The members of the Security Council encourage subsidiary bodies of the Council to continue to review periodically policies concerning access to their documents, as appropriate. 11. The members of the Security Council agree that reports of the SecretaryGeneral should be circulated to Council members and made available in all official languages of the United Nations at least four working days before the Council is scheduled to consider them. The members of the Security Council also agree that the same rule should apply to making such reports available to relevant participants in Council meetings in which those reports are discussed, including the distribution of the reports on peacekeeping missions to all participants in meetings of troop-contributing countries. 12. The members of the Security Council agree to consider setting a six-month interval as the standard reporting period, unless the situation provides reason for shorter or longer intervals. The members of the Security Council also agree to define reporting intervals as clearly as possible when adopting resolutions. The members of the Security Council further agree to request oral reporting, which does not require submission of a written report, if the members of the Council consider that it would serve the purpose satisfactorily, and to indicate that request as clearly as possible. 13. The members of the Security Council encourage the Secretary-General to include a section in his reports where all recommendations are listed, when presenting recommendations to the Council regarding the mandate of a United Nations mission. 14. The members of the Security Council encourage the Secretary-General to make reports as concise as possible, particularly for shorter reporting periods. 15. The members of the Security Council intend to request the Secretary-General to include policy recommendations on long-term strategy in his reports, if appropriate. * Recollected from previous note(s) by the President of the Security Council. 16. Reports of the Secretary-General will specify the date on which the document is physically and electronically distributed in addition to the date of signature by the Secretary-General.* 17. The Security Council agrees to cooperate with other organs of the United Nations in synchronizing reporting obligations of the Secretariat on the same subject, if appropriate, while putting priority on the effective work of the Council. 18. The members of the Security Council request the Secretariat to update the Council towards the end of each month on the progress in the preparation of the reports of the Secretary-General to be issued the following month. The members of the Security Council also request the Secretariat to communicate with the Council immediately if it expects reports to be delayed beyond their deadlines or if reports that have not been requested by the Council are expected to be issued. 19. The members of the Security Council invite the Secretariat to send all information currently sent to Council members by fax also by e-mail. IV. Informal consultations 20. The members of the Security Council encourage the President of the Council to suggest, through consultations with interested members and/or the Secretariat, as appropriate, a few areas for Council members and the Secretariat to focus on at the Council’s next informal consultations, without the intention of prescribing the scope of discussion, at least one day before the consultations are to be held. 21. The members of the Security Council intend, where they agree with a previous speaker, in part or in whole, to express that agreement without repeating the same content. 22. The members of the Security Council agree that, as a general rule, the President of the Council should adhere to the prescribed speakers’ list. The members of the Security Council encourage the President to facilitate interaction by inviting any participant in the consultations to speak at any time, irrespective of the order of the prescribed speakers’ list, when the discussion requires it. 23. The members of the Security Council encourage speakers to direct their questions not only to the Secretariat, but also to other members. 24. The members of the Security Council do not discourage each other from taking the floor more than once, in the interest of making consultations more interactive. 25. The members of the Security Council invite the Secretariat to continue its practice of circulating all press statements issued by the Secretary-General or by the Secretary-General’s spokesperson in connection with matters of concern to the Security Council, both in informal consultations and by e-mail. V. Meetings Conduct of meetings 26. In order to increase the transparency of its work, the Security Council reaffirms its commitment to increase recourse to open meetings, particularly at the early stage in its consideration of a matter. 27. The Security Council encourages, as a general rule, all participants, both members and non-members of the Council, in Council meetings to deliver their statements in five minutes or less. The Security Council also encourages each briefer to limit initial remarks to 15 minutes, unless otherwise decided by the Council. 28. The Security Council encourages participants in Council meetings to express agreement without repeating the same content, if they agree, in part or in whole, with the content of a previous statement. 29. The Security Council agrees that, when non-members are invited to speak to the Council, those who have a direct interest in the outcome of the matter under consideration may speak prior to Council members, if appropriate. 30. In line with paragraph 170 (a) of the 2005 World Summit Outcome (General Assembly resolution 60/1) and Security Council resolution 1631 (2005), the members of the Security Council agree to continue to expand consultation and cooperation with regional and subregional organizations, including by inviting relevant organizations to participate in the Council’s public and private meetings, when appropriate. 31. In order to further encourage substantive discussions with troop-contributing countries, in accordance with Security Council resolution 1353 (2001), the members of the Security Council encourage the attendance of appropriate military and political officers from each participating mission. The members of the Security Council emphasize the importance of meeting with troop-contributing countries at the early stages of consideration of a matter. The members of the Security Council encourage the President of the Council to provide sufficient time for the meetings. * Recollected from previous note(s) by the President of the Security Council. 32. The President of the Security Council will in public meetings introduce agenda items by specifying the agenda item/issue for consideration, unless otherwise agreed in the Council’s prior consultations, and refer to all speakers at political and ambassadorial level by name and title. These names will, however, not have to be included in the official records or in advance in the briefing notes prepared by the Secretariat for the Presidency.* 33. When non-members of the Security Council are invited to speak at its meetings, they will be seated at the Council table on alternate sides of the President, with the first speaker seated on the President’s right.* Notification 34. The members of the Security Council invite the Secretariat to notify Member States of unscheduled or emergency meetings not only by the telephone recorded message service but also through the Council website. Format 35. In an effort further to advance the resolution of a matter under consideration, the members of the Security Council agree to use a range of meeting options from which they can select the one best suited to facilitate specific discussions. Recognizing that the provisional rules of procedure of the Security Council and their own practice provide them with considerable flexibility in choosing how best to structure their meetings, members of the Council agree that meetings of the Council could be structured according to, but not limited to, the following formats: (a) Public meetings (i) Functions To take action and/or hold, inter alia, briefings and debates. (ii) Presence and participation The presence and participation of non-Council members in public meetings should take place in accordance with the provisional rules of procedure. The Council’s practice, as described below, is understood as being in accordance with the provisional rules of procedure, although it should not under any circumstances be understood as replacing or substituting for the provisional rules of procedure: a. Any Member of the United Nations that is not a member of the Security Council may be present at its delegation’s designated seats in the Council Chamber; b. On a case-by-case basis, any Member of the United Nations that is not a member of the Security Council, members of the Secretariat and other persons may be invited to participate in the discussion, including for the purpose of giving briefings to the Council, in accordance with rule 37 or 39 of the provisional rules of procedure. (iii) Descriptions in the provisional monthly programme of work The members of the Security Council intend to continue to include the following formats for public meetings in the provisional monthly programme of work (calendar) when they plan to adopt, in general, the corresponding procedures: a. “Open debate”: briefings may or may not be conducted, and Council members may deliver statements; non-Council members may also be invited to participate in the discussion upon their request; b. “Debate”: briefings may be conducted, and Council members may deliver statements; non-Council members that are directly concerned or affected or have special interest in the matter under consideration may be invited to participate in the discussion upon their request; c. “Briefing”: briefings are conducted, and only Council members may deliver statements following briefings; d. “Adoption”: Council members may or may not deliver statements before and/or after adopting, inter alia, resolutions and presidential statements; non-Council members may or may not be invited to participate in the discussion upon their request. (b) Private meetings (i) Functions To conduct discussion and/or take actions, e.g., recommendation regarding the appointment of the Secretary-General, without the attendance of the public or the press. (ii) Presence and participation The presence and participation of non-Council members in private meetings should take place in accordance with the provisional rules of procedure. The Council’s practice, as described below, is understood as being in accordance with the provisional rules of procedure, although it should not under any circumstances be understood as replacing or substituting for the provisional rules of procedure: a. On a case-by-case basis, any Member of the United Nations which is not a member of the Security Council, members of the Secretariat and other persons may be invited to be present or to participate in the discussion, including for the purpose of giving briefings to the Council, in accordance with rule 37 or 39 of the provisional rules of procedure. (iii) Descriptions in the provisional monthly programme of work The members of the Security Council intend to continue to include the following formats for private meetings in the provisional monthly programme of work (calendar) when they plan to adopt, in general, the corresponding procedures: a. “Private debate”: briefings may be conducted, and Council members may deliver statements; any Member of the United Nations which is not a member of the Security Council, members of the Secretariat and other persons may be invited to be present or to participate in the discussion, upon their request, in accordance with rule 37 or 39 of the provisional rules of procedure; b. “TCC meeting”: briefings may be conducted, and Council members may deliver statements; parties prescribed in resolution 1353 (2001) are invited to participate in the discussion, in accordance with the resolution. Distribution of statements 36. Texts of statements made in the meetings of the Security Council will, at the request of the delegation making the statement, be distributed by the Secretariat inside the Council Chamber to Council members and other Member States and permanent observers to the United Nations present at the meeting. A delegation requesting the distribution of its statement is encouraged to provide a sufficient number (200) of copies to the Secretariat in advance of the statement. Where a delegation does not provide to the Secretariat a sufficient number of copies of its statement, those copies will be placed outside the Council Chamber at the end of the meeting. Delegations are requested not to make statements otherwise available during the meeting. VI. Programme of work 37. The members of the Security Council encourage the President of the Council to publish a streamlined tentative monthly forecast of the programme of work on the Council website as soon as it has been distributed to Council members. 38. The forecast should be made available in all official languages “for information only/not an official document”, and there should be a footnote which reads: “This tentative forecast of the programme of work of the Security Council has been prepared by the Secretariat for the President of the Council. The forecast covers in particular those matters that may be taken up during the month pursuant to earlier decisions of the Council. The fact that a matter is or is not included in the forecast carries no implication that it will or will not be taken up during the month: the actual programme of work will be determined by developments and the views of members of the Council.”* * Recollected from previous note(s) by the President of the Security Council. 39. The members of the Council have agreed that the following reminder should be placed in the Journal of the United Nations each month: “The monthly tentative forecast has been made available at the website of the Security Council, in accordance with the note by the President of the Security Council dated 19 July 2006 (S/2006/507). Copies of the tentative forecast have also been placed in the delegations’ boxes and may be collected at the delegations’ pick-up areas as of [date].” 40. The members of the Security Council agree that the President of the Council should update the provisional monthly programme of work (calendar) and make it available to the public through the Council website each time it is revised and distributed to Council members, with appropriate indication of the revised items. VII. Resolutions and presidential statements 41. The members of the Security Council reaffirm that all members of the Security Council should be allowed to participate fully in the preparation of, inter alia, the resolutions, presidential statements and press statements of the Council. The members of the Security Council also reaffirm that the drafting of all documents such as resolutions and presidential statements as well as press statements should be carried out in a manner that will allow adequate participation of all members of the Council. 42. The members of the Security Council intend to continue to informally consult with the broader United Nations membership, in particular interested Member States, including countries directly involved or specifically affected, neighbouring States and countries with particular contributions to make, as well as with regional organizations and Groups of Friends, when drafting, inter alia, resolutions, presidential statements and press statements, as appropriate. 43. The members of the Security Council agree to consider making draft resolutions and presidential statements as well as other draft documents available as appropriate to non-members of the Council as soon as such documents are introduced within informal consultations of the whole, or earlier, if so authorized by the authors of the draft document. 44. The President of the Security Council should, when so requested by the Council members, and without prejudice to his/her responsibilities as President, draw the attention of representative(s) of the Member State(s), regional organizations and arrangements concerned to relevant statements to the press made by the President on behalf of Council members or decisions of the Council. The Secretariat should also continue to bring to the knowledge of those concerned, including non-State actors, through the relevant Special Representatives, Representatives and Envoys of the Secretary-General and United Nations Resident Coordinators, resolutions and presidential statements of the Security Council as well as statements to the press made by the President of the Council on behalf of the Council members, and ensure their promptest communication and widest possible dissemination. The Secretariat should further issue, as United Nations press releases, all statements to the press made by the President of the Security Council on behalf of Council members, upon clearance by the President.* VIII. Subsidiary bodies * Recollected from previous note(s) by the President of the Security Council. 45. The members of the Security Council encourage the Chairs of all subsidiary bodies to continue to report to the Council on any outstanding issues, when necessary and in any event on a regular basis, in order to receive strategic guidance from the Council. 46. The members of the Security Council encourage subsidiary bodies of the Council to seek the views of Member States with strong interest in their areas of work. The members of the Security Council in particular encourage sanctions committees to seek the views of Member States that are particularly affected by the sanctions. 47. The members of the Security Council encourage Chairs of the subsidiary bodies of the Council to make the schedules of meetings of subsidiary bodies available to the public, when appropriate, through their websites and the Journal of the United Nations. 48. The members of the Security Council welcome the participation in the meetings of the Security Council Working Group on Peacekeeping Operations by the Secretariat, troop-contributing countries and other major stakeholders, and encourage this practice in order to foster closer cooperation between the Council and those actors. IX. Matters of which the Council is seized* 49. The Security Council agrees to continue to delete, with the prior consent of the Member States concerned, matters which have not been considered by the Council in the preceding five years from the list of matters of which the Council is seized, in accordance with the following procedure: (a) The annual summary statement issued in January of each year by the Secretary-General on matters of which the Council is seized will identify the items to be deleted from the list in the absence of any notification by a Member State by the end of February of the year in question; (b) If a Member State of the United Nations notifies the Secretary-General that it wishes an item to remain on the list, that item will be retained; (c) The notification will remain in effect for one year and can be renewed annually. X. Communication with the Secretariat and outside 50. The members of the Security Council intend to seek the views of Member States that are parties to a conflict and/or other interested and affected parties. For that purpose, the Security Council may, inter alia, utilize private meetings when public meetings are not appropriate, in which case invitations are also to be extended in accordance with rules 37 and 39 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure. 51. The Security Council intends to continue to maintain regular communication with the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council for better coordination among the principal organs of the United Nations. To that end, the members of the Security Council encourage the President of the Council to continue holding meetings with the Presidents of the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council on a regular basis. 52. The members of the Security Council intend to make the best use of all mechanisms available, as appropriate, to convey policy guidance to the Secretary-General, including dialogue, letters from the President, adoption of resolutions or presidential statements, or any other means deemed appropriate. 53. The members of the Security Council, through the Secretary-General, invite new Special Representatives of the Secretary-General to engage in dialogue with members of the Council before assuming their duties under new mandates, including in the field, in order to obtain Council members’ views on the objectives and the mandates, whenever possible. 54. The members of the Security Council intend to utilize “Arria-formula” meetings as a flexible and informal forum for enhancing their deliberations. To that end, members of the Security Council may invite on an informal basis any Member State, relevant organization or individual to participate in “Arria-formula” informal meetings. The members of the Security Council agree to consider using such meetings to enhance their contact with civil society and non-governmental organizations, including local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) suggested by United Nations field offices. The members of the Security Council encourage the introduction of such measures as lengthening lead times, defining topics that participants might address and permitting their participation by video teleconference. 55. The members of the Security Council encourage Security Council missions to continue to avoid restricting their meetings to those with governmental interlocutors and interlocutors of conflict parties and to hold, as appropriate, meetings with local civil society leaders, NGOs and other interested parties. XI. Annual report* * Recollected from previous note(s) by the President of the Security Council. 56. The Security Council will take the necessary action to ensure the timely submission of its report to the General Assembly. For that purpose: (a) The Security Council will continue with the existing practice whereby the annual report is submitted to the General Assembly in a single volume. The period of coverage for the reports shall be from 1 August of one year to 31 July of the next; (b) The Secretariat should continue to submit the draft report to the members of the Council no later than 31 August, immediately following the period covered by the report, so that it may be discussed and thereafter adopted by the Council in time for consideration by the General Assembly during the main part of the regular session of the General Assembly. 57. The report shall contain the following parts, as described below: (a) An introduction; (b) Part I shall contain a brief statistical description of the key activities of the Security Council in relation to all subjects dealt with by the Council during the period covered by the report, including a list of each of the following with symbol numbers, as appropriate: (i) All decisions, resolutions, presidential statements and assessment reports issued by the individual monthly Presidencies of the Council on its work, annual reports of all sanctions committees and other documents issued by the Council; (ii) Meetings of the Security Council, including key committees such as the Counter-Terrorism Committee, sanctions committees, working groups and meetings with troop-contributing countries; (iii) Panels and monitoring mechanisms and their relevant reports; (iv) Security Council missions undertaken and their reports; (v) Peacekeeping operations established, functioning or terminated; (vi) Reports of the Secretary-General prepared for the Security Council; (vii) All communications issued as official documents of the Security Council; (viii) Citations to relevant United Nations documents relating to financial expenditures in connection with Security Council activities during the period covered by the report, if available; (ix) References to the summary statements by the Secretary-General on matters of which the Security Council was seized for the period covered by the report; (x) Notes by the President of the Security Council and other documents issued by the Security Council for the further improvement of the work of the Council; (c) Pursuant to paragraph (b) (i) above, the Secretariat will take the necessary steps to ensure the timely issuance by the month of September each year, of the publication Resolutions and Decisions of the Security Council under the symbol S/INF/[year of the General Assembly], containing the full text of all decisions, resolutions and presidential statements of the Council for the period covered by the report; (d) Part II shall contain, in relation to each subject dealt with by the Security Council during the period covered by the report: (i) Factual data of the number of meetings and informal consultations; (ii) A list of the decisions, resolutions, presidential statements and all documents issued by the Council; (iii) A list of the relevant panels, monitoring mechanisms and their reports, as appropriate; (iv) A list of the Security Council missions undertaken and their reports, as appropriate; (v) A list of the peacekeeping operations established, functioning or terminated, as appropriate; (vi) A list of the reports of the Secretary-General prepared for the Security Council. 58. The report will continue to include an account of the other matters considered by the Council, the work of the Military Staff Committee and of the subsidiary bodies of the Security Council. The report shall also continue to include matters that were brought to the attention of the Council but not discussed during the period covered by the report. 59. In addition, the Secretariat should post the current annual report of the Security Council on the United Nations website. The relevant web page should be updated to provide the information as necessitated under future notes issued by the President of the Security Council with respect to the annual report. 60. The report will continue to be adopted at a public meeting of the Security Council where members of the Council who wish to do so could comment on the work of the Council for the period covered by the report. The President of the Council for the month in which the report is presented to the General Assembly will also make reference to the verbatim record of the Council’s discussion prior to its adoption of the annual report. XII. Newly elected members 61. The Security Council invites the newly elected members of the Council to attend all meetings of the Council and its subsidiary bodies and the informal consultations of the whole, for a period of six weeks immediately preceding their term of membership or as soon as they have been elected, if the election takes place less than six weeks prior to the beginning of their terms. The Security Council also invites the Secretariat to provide all relevant communications of the Council to the newly elected members during the above-mentioned period. * Recollected from previous note(s) by the President of the Security Council. 62. The members of the Security Council also agree that, if an incoming member will be assuming the Presidency of the Council in the first two months of its term on the Council, it will be invited to attend the informal consultations of the whole for the period of two months immediately preceding its term of membership (that is, with effect from 1 November).* 63. The Security Council invites the Secretariat to continue to take appropriate measures to familiarize the newly elected members with the work of the Council and its subsidiary bodies, including by providing briefing materials and holding seminars before they begin to attend Council meetings.   sss1 \* MERGEFORMAT S/2006/507 sss1 \* MERGEFORMAT S/2006/507 FooterJN \* MERGEFORMAT 06-43544 \* MERGEFORMAT 14 \* MERGEFORMAT 13 FooterJN \* MERGEFORMAT 06-43544 United Nations S/2006/507 Security Council Distr.: General 19 July 2006 Original: English jobn \* MERGEFORMAT 06-43544 (E) 190706 Barcode \* MERGEFORMAT *0643544*