United Nations, March 5 – A stark illustration of the Security Council's polarization, which paralyzes its work, a dispute between the US and a combination of Russia and China over including Iran in the month's agenda has stalled the adoption of its program of work while Washington presides over it.
Following a lively start on Monday when US First Lady Melania Trump presided over the first open session of the month under the US presidency, the Council went dormant for the next two days and is scheduled to resume on Thursday.
Without a program of work, which requires unanimous agreement, the US, in a diplomatic maneuver, published what it called a "Plan of Work," with meetings scheduled for 11 out of the 21 working days of the month, leaving ten days blank.
When asked about the situation, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, said, "Frankly, we have been concerned about the lack of unity in the Security Council regarding a number of issues."
"I believe the Security Council has a primary responsibility in maintaining peace and security, and we encourage members to find common ground to that end," he added.
In an unusual move, Russia went public with the dispute, posting a note on its mission's website explaining why Moscow and Beijing prevented the adoption of the program of work.
At the heart of the dispute is the US calling for a briefing on the work of the sanctions committee for Iran on Tuesday, exercising its authority as it has the alphabetically rotating presidency for March.
The committee is known as the 1737 Committee after the number of the Council resolution on the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Under the deal, sanctions were loosened, but the resolution provided for a "snapback" – the reimposition of sanctions if Iran did not comply with the JCPOA restrictions on its nuclear programme.
Britain, France and Germany, which were parties to the JCPOA, declared that Iran had broken the deal by enriching uranium beyond the levels imposed and invoked the snapback.
Russia said that the three countries "had no right to invoke this mechanism" and "there is no consensus within the Security Council on the legality of the actions taken by the UK, France, and Germany."
Since the US turned down its request not to put the 1737 Committee's work on the agenda, "we had no other choice but to object to the adoption of the UNSC program of work for March."
Russia had also blocked the adoption of the program of work in 2023 during the US presidency.
Traditionally, the Council presidents hold two signature events on issues important to them with high-level participation.
The US held one on Monday with Melania Trump on children, education, and technology, and has scheduled another on "Energy, Critical Minerals, and Security" on Thursday.
Situations in Palestine, Syria, Myanmar, and Afghanistan also feature in the US plan of work.
