UN Security Council
Rule: 125- 139
125. The Security Council will take the necessary action to ensure the timely submission of its report to the General Assembly in accordance with Article 24, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations.
126. 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 January to 31 December for all reports to be presented to the General Assembly at and after its sevent y-second session.
127. The report shall consist of an introduction, containing an agreed concise summary prepared on behalf of the Council under the coordination of the President of the Council for the month of July. In the case of the presidency for the m onth of July ending its tenure on the Council that year, the task of coordinating the introduction of the report shall then devolve on the member of the Council next in English alphabetical order and who will not be leaving the Security Council that calendar year.
128. The introduction, which should not exceed 10,000 words, may contain, inter alia, a brief description of the key activities and trends, and the nature of decisions taken by the Security Council during the period covered by the report.
129. While drafting the introduction to the report, the member of the Council preparing the introduction is encouraged to consult for reference the monthly assessments described in paragraph 136 below, and may, when necessary, seek advice from other members of the Council. It may also consider organizing, where appropriate, interactive informal exchanges of views with the wider membership.
130. The introduction to the report should continue to be approved by all members of the Council who served on the Council during the reporting period. The introduction shall be completed no later than 31 January so as to allow the Secretariat enough time for translation.
131. The remainder of the report shall be prepared by the Secretariat and shall be approved by all current members of the Council and the immediate past elected members who served on the Council during the reporting period covered, and shall contain the following parts:
(a) Part I shall contain a brief statistical description of the key activities relating to all questions considered by the Security Council under its responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security during the period covered by the report, including a list of each of the following, with document symbols, as appropriate:
(i) All decisions, resolutions, presidential statements and official communiqués adopted by the Security Council;
(ii) Meetings of the Security Council, including with troop – and police-contributing countries;
(iii) Meetings of subsidiary bodies, including counter-terrorism committees, sanctions committees and working groups;
(iv) Reports of panels and monitoring mechanisms;
(v) Reports of Security Council missions undertaken;
(vi) Peacekeeping operations established, functioning or terminated;
(vii) Assistance missions and offices established, functioning or terminated;
(viii) Reports of the Secretary-General submitted to the Security Council;
(ix) References to the summary statements by the Secretary -General of 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;
(xi) Assessment reports issued by the individual monthly presidencies of the Council on its work;
(b) Part II shall contain information relating to each question considered by the Security Council during the reporting period, in at least one formal meeting, under its responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security:
(i) Factual data on the number of meetings and informal consultations;
(ii) A notice of all decisions, resolutions, presidential statements, and draft resolutions considered by the Council at its meetings but not a dopted;
(iii) A list of the peacekeeping operations and assistance missions and offices established, functioning or terminated, as appropriate;
(iv) A list of the relevant panels and monitoring mechanisms and their reports, as appropriate;
(v) A list of the reports of the Secretary-General submitted to the Security Council;
(vi) A list of the Security Council missions undertaken and their reports, as appropriate;
(vii) All communications issued by the Council or transmitted to the Council in connection with each agenda item considered;
(c) Part III shall contain an account of the other matters considered by the Security Council;
(d) Part IV shall contain an account of the work of the Military Staff Committee;
(e) Part V shall cover matters that were brought to the attention of the Council but not discussed at the meetings of the Council during the reporting period;
(f) The members of the Security Council acknowledge that the work of the Security Council subsidiary bodies is an inseparable part of th e Council’s work. Part VI of the report shall therefore contain information pertaining to the work of subsidiary bodies of the Security Council, including counter -terrorism committees, sanctions committees, working groups, and international tribunals estab lished by the Security Council, as appropriate. This information shall be presented by means of references and hyperlinks to the separate annual reports of the subsidiary bodies of the Council.
132. The Secretariat should submit the draft report to the members of the Council no later than 15 March, 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 in the spring of that calendar year.
133. The Secretariat should, subject to regular review, in a timely manner and in all the official United Nations languages, prepare and post on the United Nations website information related to the Security Council activities that could have been contained in annexes to the annual report, including:
(a) Activities and items relating to each question considered by the Security Council under its responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security;
(b) Information about the work of subsidiary bodies of the Security Council, including counter-terrorism committees, sanctions committees, working groups and international tribunals established by the Security Council, as appropriate;
(c) Other information on activities relating to all questions considered by the Security Council under its responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.
134. The report will continue to be adopted at a public meeting of the Security Council, at which members of the Council who wish to do so may 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 pri or to its adoption of the annual report.
135. 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.
136. The members of the Security Council recognize the value of a monthly assessment of each presidency in providing as much information as possible on the main aspects of the work of the Council during that month, which can be useful in the preparation of the annual report. Each presidency is encouraged to prepare its monthly assessment soon after the end of the presidency in a timely manner and to include a concise summary in its monthly assessment.
137. If appropriate, the President of the Security Council will continue the practice of not scheduling meetings or informal consultations of the Council on the first day of the debate on the report in the General Assembly.
138. The members of the Security Council encourage the President of the Security Council in charge of the presentation of the report to the General Assembly to report to Council members on relevant suggestions and observations raised during the General Assembly debate on the annual report.
139. The members of the Security Council encourage continuing efforts to ensure the inclusion in the annual report of more substantive information on the Council’s work. The Secretariat is encouraged to advise, at least onc e a year, the Informal Working Group on Documentation and Other Procedural Questions on the preparation of the draft annual report, including ways to improve its structure in a
cost-efficient way and to take into account the publication of relevant informa tion on the United Nations website. The members of the Security Council will continue their consideration of other suggestions concerning improvements to the annual report and related activities.
Source: Note on Security Council Practice (S/2017/507)
