Main navigation
The Security Council Informal Working Group on Documentation and Other Procedural Questions (IWG) was established in June 1993 to improve the process by which the Security Council addresses issues concerning its documentation and other procedural questions. The Working Group meets as agreed by members of the Security Council and makes recommendations, proposals and suggestions concerning the Council's documentation and other procedural questions.
The Informal Working Group has drafted a series of documents concerning the working methods of the Security Council, including measures to enhance its efficiency, transparency and interactivity, which have been adopted by the Security Council as Notes by the President. The Note by the President of 30 August 2017 (S/2017/507 ), drafted under the Chairmanship of Japan, is the most comprehensive compilation of these measures, integrating and further developing previous notes drafted by the Group under the Chairmanships of Portugal (2012); Argentina (2013–2014); Angola (2015); and Japan (2016-2017).
Since the adoption of the note by the President of 30 August 2017 (S/2017/507), the Council has issued an additional 16 Notes by the President under the Chairmanship of Kuwait (2018-2019), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2020-2021) and Albania (2022-2023). The notes have addressed the following topics:
- Security Council missions (S/2019/990)
- Selection of Chairs of subsidiary bodies (S/2019/991)
- Provisional programme of work (S/2019/992)
- Participation of incoming elected members (S/2019/993)
- Wrap-up sessions (S/2019/994)
- Reports of the Secretary-General in connection with consultations with troop- and police-contributing countries (S/2019/995)
- The gender pronoun used in the Provisional Rules of Procedure (S/2019/996)
- Timeline for the adoption of the Annual Report to the General Assembly (S/2019/997)
- Preparation and training opportunities for incoming elected members (S/2021/645)
- The role of coordinators in permanent missions with respect to the implementation of the Council’s working methods (S/2021/646)
- Monthly working methods commitments of Council presidencies (S/2021/647)
- Multilingualism (S/2021/648)
- Working methods during extraordinary circumstances (S/2021/1074)
- Procedure for the observance of minutes of silence (S/2023/612)
- Contingency measure regarding the appointment of Chairs of subsidiary bodies (S/2023/615)
- The question on penholdership (S/2023/945)
Click here for a comprehensive list of all notes by the President issued by the Security Council on working methods since 1993.
On 30 December 2022, the Informal Working Group issued the first annual report on its work, covering the year 2022, since its establishment in 1993.