The 2020 edition of the Highlights of Security Council Practice is now available on the Security Council website.
Published every year since 2011 by the Security Council Affairs Division (SCAD) within the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA), the Highlights Paper offers a snapshot of the activities of the Council over the past year.
It covers the most significant procedural and constitutional developments relating to Security Council meetings and videoconferences, agenda, decisions adopted, and voting patterns, as well as its subsidiary bodies.
In 2020, despite the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Security Council managed to sustain its activity: holding 81 meetings and 269 videoconferences, adopting 57 resolutions, issuing 13 presidential statements, and considering 43 agenda items.
In addition, the Security Council unanimously adopted a number of important decisions, including resolution , recognizing efforts and measures proposed by the Secretary-General concerning the response to the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to conflict-affected countries and demanding an immediate global cessation of hostilities.
The Council established a new field mission, the 51³Ô¹Ï Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) and decided to terminate the African Union-51³Ô¹Ï Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) as of 31 December 2020.
It also extended the mandate of the 51³Ô¹Ï Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS) until 31 December and requested to focus on the transition plan for its gradual drawdown by the end of 2020.
In addition to the Highlights of Security Council Practice, the Security Council Affairs Division makes available a wealth of data and information concerning the work of the Security Council on issues, such as:
- Past and current practice
- Working methods
- Sanctions measures and bodies
- Mandates of existing peacekeeping and special political missions
- Current and upcoming programme of work of the Council
Interactive dashboards are also available, including: