Arria and Other Special Meetings between NGOs and the Security Council
The Arria Formula
The special informal briefings by which the Council gets information and advice from outside parties. This link tells about the origins of the formula and how it is used.
Keeping The Security Council Door Ajar (February 3, 2003)
During his term in the Security Council in 1992, Ambassador Diego Arria of Venezuela initiated the "Arria Formula" briefing, allowing NGOs, non-Council members, policy experts and grassroots individuals to brief the Security Council on particular issues. Since they sometimes spread information and views that some countries do not want the Council to hear, such meetings are often victim to diplomatic pressure. "Is the Arria formula now in danger?", asks the UN Wire.
United Nations Iraq Press Conference (April 28, 1998)
Describes use of the Arria Formula as a mechanism for hearing the Iraqi delegation's view on Iraq sanctions.
A Proposal for a Broad Interpretation of the Arria Formula
Edited text of a proposal made to the Council in October 1997, advocating use of the Formula to invite a wide range of different persons, including NGOs.
Portuguese Views on the Arria Formula
A statement made by the Portuguese delegation to the Informal Working Group of the SC on Documentation and other Procedural Questions on October 27, 1997.
The Somavía Formula: NGOs Brief the Council
A historic briefing of the council by three NGOs on 12 February 1997, at the initiative of Chilean ambassador Juan Somavía.
Briefing by Pierre Sané of Amnesty International
A briefing on 15 September 1997 under a modified version of the Arria Formula -- a first for NGOs.
In addition to the NGO Working Group on the Security Council series, Council members from time to time meet jointly or individually with NGOs to discuss policy questions. A small number of NGOs -- including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, OXFAM, Save the Children, World Vision, CARE and Médecins sans Frontieres -- actively lobby the Council and meet with individual missions on a continuous basis. In addition, the International Peace Academy organizes briefings for Council members on a fairly regular basis. The following information provides some important cases of this area of NGO activity -- but only meetings in which several Council members participated and meetings that were particularly significant.
An Arria-formula meeting entitled "Enhancing and widening interaction and dialogue between the Security Council and other United Nations Member States, as part of the implementation of the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document" was convened by Ambassador Peter Burian, Permanent Representative of Slovakia on December 13, 2007. Three panellists were invited to speak: Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury, Ambassador Colin Keating and Ambassador Peter Maurer.
Sir Emyr Jones Parry, UK Ambassador, hosted an Arria formula meeting on security sector reform. Invited speakers were Laurie Nathan from South Africa, Jeanette Eno from Sierra Leone and Hariyadi Wirawan from Indonesia. The three speakers emphasized "security as a basic human need, and security sector reform, centered on the needs of citizens, as the cornerstone of durable peace."
UK Ambassador Sir Emyr Jones Parry hosted an Arria Formula meeting on the protection of civilians in armed conflict. Representatives of NGOs attending the meeting include Kate Hunt from CARE International, Nicola Reindop from Oxfam International, George Biddle from the International Rescue Committee and Charles Lawrence from Save the Children.
To mark the fifth anniversary of the adoption of Resolution 1325, the government of Denmark hosted an Arria Formula meeting on women, peace and security. Many Permanent Representatives and Deputy Permanent Representatives attended the meeting. On the NGO side, Basma Fahkri from Hanaa Edwar (Iraq), Goretti Ndacayisaba, from Dushirehamwe (Burundi), Vina Nadjibulla for the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, and Ambassador Swanee Hunt from Inclusive Security: Women Waging Peace made presentations.
In preparation for the Security Council's Mission to Haiti, Ambassador Cesar Mayoral of Argentina hosted an Arria Formula meeting on Haiti. Four NGO briefed Security Council members: Yvonne Terlingen of Amnesty International; Dr. Christophe Fournier of Médécins Sans Frontières; Eugenia Charles of Fondasyon Mapou; and Carolyn Rose-Avila of World Vision-USA. The Arria began with introductory remarks by Mr. Louis Joinet, the Independent Expert appointed by the Secretary-General on the situation of human rights in Haiti. Speakers highlighted a variety of different issues including the situation of prisoners, the lack of access to health care, the violence being perpetrated by the Haitian National Police, disarmament, and concerns of sexual and gender-based violence being perpetrated against women and girls. Representatives of CARE International, Human Rights Watch, Lutheran Office for World Community, OXFAM International, Refugees International, Save the Children Alliance, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) were also present as observers.
For the annual review of the Secretary General’s report on Children and Armed Conflict, France hosted an Arria Formula meeting with Kathleen Hunt, Chair, and Julia Friedman, Director, of the Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflicts, Casey Kelso, Coordinator, of the Coalition to Stop the Use of Children Soldiers, and Mahabir Chaudhari, Board member of Backward Society Education (BASE), a grassroots Nepali NGO. Click here for the presentations by Backward Society Education (BASE).
To mark the anniversary of Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security, Benin Ambassador Joel Adechi hosted an Arria Formula meeting with representatives from Mano River Women's Peace Network, International Rescue Committee, Ndabaga Association, Albanian American Women's Organization, New Sudanese Indigenous Network, International Center for Transitional Justice and the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security. Click here for the presentations by Ndabaga Association (French), New Sudanese Indigenous Network, International Center for Transitional Justice, and NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security.
Chile arranged an Arria Frormula meeting on Justice and the Rule of Law with Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Center for Transitional Justice. Click for the presentations by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and theInternational Center for Transitional Justice.
For the first time ever, NGOs spoke in the Security Council during one of its regular sessions. Ambassador Lauro Baja of the Philippines, then President of the Council, invited CARE International and the International Center for Transitional Justice to brief Council members on the role of civil society in post-conflict peace building. Click for the presentations by CARE International and the International Center for Transitional Justice.
UK Ambassador Sir Emyr Jones Parry organized an Arria Formula meeting, inviting Amnesty International, Oxfam International, Greenpeace, Refugees International, and Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children to brief the Security Council before its field mission in West Africa. Click here for the presentation by Amnesty International.
As the suggestion of Médecins sans Frontií¨res and Human Rights Watch, Germany organized an Arria meeting on the situation in Darfur. Médecins sans Frontií¨res, Care International, Oxfam, International Crisis Group, Human Rights Watch,and World Vision were invited to speak. At the request of some Council members, the Deputy Representative of Sudan was invited to make an opening presentation at the meeting, an unfortunate precedent in the view of some NGOs. Click for the presentations by Médecins sans Frontieres, International Crisis Group, and Human Rights Watch.
UK Ambassador Adam Thompson organized and chaired an Arria Formula meeting on the situation in Liberia. Amnesty International, Greenpeace, Human Rights Watch, International Women's Tribune Center, Médecins Sans Frontií¨res, Oxfam International, Save the Children, Watchlist for Children, and World Vision were present at the meeting. Click for the presentations by Human Rights Watch, Medecins sans Frontieres, and Oxfam International.
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Ms. Christine Lee, Deputy Permanent Representative of Singapore, held an Arria Formula meeting of the Council to celebrate the second anniversary of Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women Peace and Security. Angelina Acheng Atyam of Uganda, Co-founder and a Chair of Concerned Parents Association; Sabine Sabimbona of Burundi, Member of the Collective of Women's Organizations and NGOs of Burundi, and Parliamentarian in the Burundian National Assembly; Gila Svirsky of Israel, a founding member of Women In Black and co-founder of the Coalition of Women for a Just Peace and Vahida Nainar of India, past Executive Director of the Women's Caucus for Gender Justice, were among the NGOs that addressed the Council.
Ambassador Jean-David Levitte, Permanent Representative of France, chairs an Arria Formula meeting of the Council with Yvonne Terlingen and Tania Bernath from Amnesty International, Martha Carey from Médecins sans Frontií¨res and Binaifer Nowrojee from Human Rights Watch, on the Mano River Union. Click for the presentations by Amnesty International, Médecins sans Frontieres and Human Rights Watch.
The Norwegian Ambassador Peter Kolby held an Arria Formula briefing on the situation in the Middle East in the context of Resolution 1325 on Women and Peace and Security. Facilitated by Equality Now, a Palestinian and an Israeli woman shared with members of the Security Council the nature of their work, the realities on the ground, prospects for peace and the role of the international community including the UNSC. Ms Maha Abu-Dayyeh Shamas is the Founder and Director of Women's Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling in East Jerusalem, a Palestinian NGO dedicated to the promotion of social and legal status of Palestinian women. Ms Terry Greenblat is the director of Bat Shalom, the national Israeli women's peace organization and a core member organization of the Women's Coalition for Peace. Click for the presentations by Ms Maha Abu-Dayyeh Shamas and Ms Terry Greenblat, and the press release from Equality Now.
To brief the Security Council before its mission to the Great Lakes on the Human Rights and humanitarian situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ambassador Jean-David Levitte, Permanent Representative of France, chairs an Arria Formula meeting of the Council with Suliman Baldo from Human Rights Watch, Marcel Akpovo from Amnesty International, and Nicola Reindorp from Oxfam International. Click for the presentations by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Oxfam International.
Ambassador Kishore Mahbubani, Permanent Representative of Singapore, chairs an Arria Formula briefing on the humanitarian situation in Angola with representatives from Human Rights Watch, Médecins sans Frontií¨res, Oxfam International and Save the Children. Click for the presentations by Human Rights Watch, Médecins sans Frontieres and Oxfam International.
To celebrate the second anniversary of Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, Ambassador Patricia Durrant of Jamaica organizes a second Arria Formula briefing between the Security Council and women's non-governmental organizations. Statements were made by: Ms. Elisabeth Rehn, Independent Expert on the impact of armed conflict on women and women's role in peacebuilding; Natércia Godinho-Adams of East Timor; Jamila of Afghanistan; Haxhere Veseli, Kosovo/Federal Republic of Yugoslavia; Maha Muna on behalf of the NGO Working Group on Women and International Peace and Security.
For more detailed information, check the WILP webpage.
Presidential Statement (October 31, 2001)
Ambassador Patricia Durrant, Permanent Representative of Jamaica, chairs an Arria Formula briefing with Catherine Dumait-Harper (Médecins sans Frontií¨res), Yvonne Terlingen (Amnesty International), a representative from Oxfam, and Patrick Alley from Global Witness on humanitarian issues in Liberia.
Ambassador Kishore Mahbubani, Permanent Representative of Singapore, chairs an Arria Formula briefing on the Preparation for Transition in East Timor prior to the Security Council session on this topic on July 30, 2001. The speakers are Sydney Jones (Human Rights Watch), Shepard Forman (Center on International Cooperation), David Malone (International Peace Academy), and Nancy Soderberg (International Crisis Group).
Ambassador Jean-David Levitte, Permanent Representative of France, chairs an Arria Formula briefing of the Council with representatives of Human Rights Watch, Amnesty, and other humanitarian organizations who brief the Council on the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Following the Arria Formula briefing, China issues a Presidential Statement on the Situation in the DRC (July 24, 2001)
Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock, Permanent Representative of the UK, invites NGO representatives to a briefing on the concluded Council mission to Sierra Leone (see September 28 below). The meeting takes place at the UK Mission.
Security Council's Report (S/2000/992) on the mission to Sierra Leone.
Ambassador Patricia Durrant, Permanent Representative of Jamaica, chairs an Arria Formula meeting on Women, Peace and Security with members of the NGO Coalition on Women and International Peace and Security. Main speakers at the meeting are - Inonge Mbikusita-Lewanika (OAU African Women's Committee on Peace and Democratization and Federation of Africa Women's Peace Movements), Eugenia Piza Lopes (NGO Coalition/International Alert), Isha Dyfan (NGO Coalition/Women's International League for Peace and Freedom), Luz Mendez (National Union of Guatemalan Women), Faiza Jama Mohamed (Africa Office of Equality Now), Mary Diaz (Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children), Anne Burke (Amnesty International), Betty Reardon (International Peace Research Association) and Cora Weiss (Hague Appeal for Peace).
See also the press release for the open debate held in the Security Council the following day on Women and Peace under the Namibian presidency of the Council.
Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock, Permanent Representative of the UK, invites NGO representatives of OXFAM International, Médecins sans Frontií¨res, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Amnesty International, Global Policy Forum and Human Rights Watch, for consultations with Security Council members and relevant UN agencies before finalising the program and objectives for the Council's mission to Sierra Leone October 7-14, 2000. The meeting takes place at the UK Mission.
Ambassador Andjaba of Namibia chairs an Arria Formula briefing with representatives from the Sub-Committee on Children and Armed Conflict (represented by Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, InterAction International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA), International Rescue Committee (IRC), International Save the Children Alliance, Médecins du Monde/Doctors of the World (MDM), Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children World Vision International (WVI)), A summary of the main NGO concerns is co-delivered by Dean Hirsch, President of World Vision International, and Mary Diaz, Executive Director of the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children.
The briefing on July 25 was followed the next day by formal debate in the Council, with interventions by Olara Otunnu and Carol Bellamy. As a result, Resolution 1314 (pdf file) was approved in mid-August, containing many of the protection provisions that NGOs had requested during the year-long consultation process.
The International Peace Academy organizes a conference on sanctions policy, at which UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy are main speakers. Many ambassadors on the Council are present and several make presentations, including Robert Fowler (Canada), Jeremy Greenstock (UK), Hasmy Agam (Malaysia), Sergei Lavrov (Russia), and Jean-David Levitte (France). A number of NGOs, academic experts and journalists are present and participate in the discussion. The event takes place at the UN Plaza Hotel, across the street from UN headquarters.
In coordination with the Canadian delegation, Ambassador Peter van Walsum, Permanent Representative of the Netherlands, organizes an Arria Formula briefing with CARE International, Oxfam International and Médecins sans Frontií¨res, on the protection of civilians in armed conflict. The briefing takes place shortly before an open meeting of the Council addressing the issue, held on April 19, 2000. Click for the press release by CARE International, the presentation by Guy Tousignant, Secretary-General of CARE International, and the article on the resulting Security Council resolution condemning the recruitment of children as soldiers.
A group of NGOs including Save the Children-UK, Human Rights Watch, the Quaker UN Office, the Mennonite Central Committee and Global Policy Forum organizes a luncheon at Quaker House, New York, for a number of delegations on the Security Council on the question of Iraq Sanctions.
The United Nations Association-USA organizes a briefing by Sergio Viera de Mello, Interim Special Representative of the Secretary General in Kosovo and Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs. Taking place at UNA's Arthur Ross Confernece Room, the briefing is entitled "Who's in Charge in Kosovo?" Present are over thirty guests, including a number of Permanent Representatives and Deputies on the Council, journalists from major media and senior NGO representatives.
The International Peace Academy organizes luncheon briefings on sanctions, jointly with the Austrian Mission (May) and the Canadian Mission (April), held at those missions respectively. Several Permanent Representatives on the Council, as well as many members of delegation attend, along with a few invited Secretariat officials, journalists and NGO representatives. Academic specialists and delegates make presentations, followed by lenthy informal discussion.
The Brazilian Mission, then in the Council presidency, organizes an informal meeting at the Mission of members of the Council Sanctions Committee on Angola to hear Charmian Gooch and Alex Yearsley of Global Witness, a London-based NGO. Gooch and Yearsley present a Global Witness special report on the diamond trade, arms and civil war in Angola. They call for more vigorous enforcement of UN sanctions in Angola.
Fourth Freedom Forum, an Indiana-based NGO, organizes a conference on targetted sanctions with members of the Council at the UN Plaza Hotel in New York. Partners of the Forum include UNA-USA, the Institute for International Economics, the Carter Center, Brown University's Watson Institute, NYU Law School's Center for the Study of International Organization and the Kroc Institute at Notre Dame University. Nearly all the Permanent Representatives on the Council are present during the opening session and a number take part in the proceedings. Other members of delegation, academic experts and a few NGO specialists are also present. Approximately eighty people participate.
The Swedish Mission organizes an informal meeting of CARE International, Médecins sans Frontií¨res, OXFAM-Great Britain and Save the Children with members of the Security Council to discuss the civil war in Sudan. The meeting takes place at the mission. The humanitarian organizations call on Council members to take more vigorous action to end the long civil war. Click for the NGO Statement on Sudan and the press release, "More Active UN Role in Sudan Urged", by Associated Press.
Portugese ambassador Antonio Monteiro organizes a "modified Arria formula briefing" for the Security Council by Pierre Sané, Director General of Amnesty International. The meeting takes place in a UN conference room.
Report of the briefing
Chilean ambassador Juan Somavia organizes a special Security Council consultation with three humanitarian NGOs -- Oxfam, CARE and Medecins sans Frontieres under a new formula. Nearly all members of the Council attend. The meeting takes place in a UN conference room. Click for the Somavía Formula: NGOs Brief the Council.
Global Policy Forum and the World Federalist Movement convene a special high-level meeting at UN headquarters of NGO leaders and twelve delegations including several Council members. Four ambassadors attend. Organized the day before the General Assembly debate on the annual report of the Security Council, the meeting discusses the question of transparency and accountability of the Council. There is enthusiasm for the idea that the President of the Council would give a monthly briefing for NGOs.
Link to International Peace Academy's listing of events - including meetings with the Security Council, as well as other meetings, policy forums and roundtables.
