ANALYSIS: Russia Assumes Presidency of UNSC, Puts Sevastopol on Agenda – No Surprises There

Even as the war in Ukraine rages on it was Russia’s turn to take on the chairmanship of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the month of July, from South Korea. In a procedure that for many has long lost any relevance the chair rotates on a monthly basis with a new nation from the 15 members of the UNSC taking on the role.

Currently the council is made up of the five permanent members: China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US, along with ten others elected to the council for two-year stints. The body currently consists of representatives from Algeria, Ecuador, Guyana, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, Republic of [South] Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, and Switzerland.

The UN officially came into existence on Oct. 24,1945 with the Security Council being established under Section VII of the UN charter and meeting for the first time on Jan. 17, 1946.

The purpose of the UNSC was to “determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression” and to take the necessary military and non-military action needed to “restore international peace and security.” This was based on the central guiding principle of the UN charter that none of the member states of the UN should attack any other UN member state.

The UNSC is supposed to foster negotiations, impose sanctions, deploy peacekeeping missions and authorize the use of force to reimpose peace.

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This all looks very good on paper but as the many critics of the UN point out, UN members have frequently attacked each other throughout the organization’s almost 80-year existence. In respect of the Security Council the five permanent members, detractors would say anachronistically, retain the power of veto and often use it to overrides the will of the majority. Cynics say that power is being used more frequently, particularly when it is one of those permanent members or their ally that is the “guilty party.”

The last time Russia led the body was in April 2023, which received widespread condemnation at the time because of Russia’s full-scale invasion. This time there has been little publicly voiced criticism of the handover.

Vasily Nebenzya, Moscow’s ambassador will chair the first Security Council meeting later today in the afternoon, New York time. He and other members will put forward suggestions for agenda items to be included in the program for next month, which will be discussed and approved at the meeting, after which Nebenzya, will hold a press conference before holding a closed-door briefing to the UN General Assembly.

It’s anticipated the program will include around two dozen meetings over the month of July, some in open session others behind closed doors. Nebenzya told the Russian news site that RIA Novosti that Moscow was planning to conduct three key sessions under its own chairmanship.

These major events under Russia’s presidency will include building a fairer and more democratic world order, initiatives to resolve the current Middle East crisis as well as strengthening cooperation between the UN and the three international organizations in which Russia plays a leading role: the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO

According to RIA Novosti discussions relating to the continuing war in Ukraine, in general, will also take center stage during Russia’s chairmanship. According to Nebenzya Russia will specifically raise the June 23 Sevastopol beach tragedy in which five civilians were killed and over 150 injured.

Russia is likely to contend that this was a deliberate attack using US-supplied ATACMS missiles even though all the evidence shows it was caused by a Russian air-defense missile striking the M39 sub-munition carrying projectile above the crowded beach that caused the strike.

Meteorologists suggest that New York is likely to see one of the hottest months on record in July, nowhere more so than in the UNSC debating chamber.