Key Global Events to Watch in June

At the start of every month, the Global Observatory posts a list of key upcoming meetings and events that have implications for global affairs.

June 2: France hosts high-level summit on combating Islamic State, Paris

The French government is scheduled to host a high-level meeting in Paris with members of the United States-led coalition battling the so-called Islamic State. US Secretary of State John Kerry and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi will participate, along with 24 other foreign ministers. Abadi is expected to provide a briefing on the situation on the ground, as coalition members discuss how best to continue the fight against the terrorist group.

June 2: Egypt court announces final decision on Morsi death sentence, Cairo

On June 2, the Cairo Criminal Court is expected to deliver its final decision on the death sentence it imposed on former Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi, along with more than 100 other defendants, over a mass prison break in 2011. To be carried out, death sentences in Egypt require approval by the grand mufti—the country’s highest Sunni Muslim authority—though the decision can be overturned. The court’s ruling has been criticized by major human rights groups, the United States, European Union, and United Nations.

June 3-4: European Development Days 2015, Brussels

On June 3-4, the European Union will host the 2015 edition of the “European Development Days,”  a major international gathering of development and humanitarian aid practitioners from 140 countries discussing how the EU can contribute to poverty reduction around the world. The nearly 7,000 participants are expected to include heads of state, aid and development practitioners, members of civil society, and the private sector. The theme of this year’s gathering is “Our world, our dignity, our future.” The conference will be the flagship event of the European Year of Development.

June 3-5: 2015 World Economic Forum on Africa, Cape Town

According to the World Economic Forum, over the past decade Africa has demonstrated a “remarkable economic turnaround, growing two to three percentage points faster than global GDP.” The WEF plans to celebrate this progress by hosting a high-level forum from June 3-5 in Cape Town, South Africa, with the goal of urging African leaders to implement systemic structural changes that can further boost investment and competitiveness, strengthen risk resilience, and harness opportunities arising from technology.

June 4-5: Global Forum for Improving Humanitarian Action, New York

As part of the consultation process for the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit, the League of Arab States, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the United States Agency for International Development are convening a Global Forum for Improving Humanitarian Action on June 4-5 in New York. The event will bring together participants from the field, as well as UN and government officials, to develop concrete recommendations for making humanitarian action more flexible, responsive, and effective in different contexts.

June 5, 26: Burundi holds local, parliamentary, and presidential elections

Voters in Burundi are expected to go to the polls twice in June, first for local and parliamentary elections on June 5, then for presidential elections on June 26. The local and parliamentary elections were postponed by President Pierre Nkurunziza at the height of a political crisis in mid-May, which included an unsuccessful coup attempt by a faction within the country’s military. This followed weeks of violent street protests during which hundreds of Burundians demanded Nkurunziza step down and not run for what they say is an unconstitutional third term.

June 7: Mid-term legislative elections, Mexico 

Mexicans will head to the polls on June 7 for the country’s mid-term congressional elections, to pick 128 senators and 500 members of the Chamber of Deputies. The mid-term elections take place every three years, halfway through the president’s six-year term and are often seen as a referendum on the president’s policies. The electoral debate has focused on President Enrique Peña Nieto’s economic policies as well as his handling of the drug cartel wars, in particular the Iguala mass student abduction.

June 7: Parliamentary elections, Turkey

On June 7, Turkish voters will head to the polls to choose their next government. Thirty-one parties will participate in the elections, including the ruling Justice and Development Party to which President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan belongs. A major issue at the center of the campaign has been a potential amendment to the country’s constitution to create a full executive presidential system of government.

June 7-8: Germany hosts G7 Summit, Bavarian Alps

On June 7-8, the leaders of seven of the world’s largest economies will gather at the Schloss Elmau castle in the Bavarian Alps for this year’s G7 Summit, hosted by the German government. The leaders of Canada, France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the US will join German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss the state of the global economy and common security threats.

June 7-15: 25th African Union Summit, Pretoria and Johannesburg

From June 7-15, the African Union will hold its 25th summit, in the South African cities of Pretoria and Johannesburg on the “Year of Women Empowerment and Development towards Africa’s Agenda 2063.” This will be the first time in more than 10 years that South Africa hosts an AU summit, and some, most notably the Nigerian government, have called for a change in venue because of recent attacks against African immigrants living in the country.

June 8-11: 17th Africa Energy Forum, Dubai

Energy and finance ministers from across Africa will gather in Dubai from June 8-11 for the 17th annual Africa Energy Forum, an international summit that seeks to foster development of Africa’s power and energy sectors. The event will also see the participation of other key stakeholders in the field, including investors and regulators, who will discuss how energy development impacts social and political stability, how the continent can meet its expanding energy demand, and ways to account for the environmental impact of energy development.

June 10: Africa to launch 26-nation free trade area, Sharm el-Sheikh

Africa’s Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA), which extends to 26 countries, will be officially launched at a summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt on June 10. The new free trade area will integrate three existing African trade blocs with the aim of boosting regional trade and investment. The new bloc will have a combined gross domestic product of one trillion USD and a market of over 600 million people.

June 10-11: 2015 EU-CELAC Summit, Brussels

Leaders from the European Union and the Latin America and Caribbean region (CELAC) will gather in Brussels on June 10-11 for this year’s EU-CELAC Summit, whose theme will be “Shaping our common future: working for prosperous, cohesive and sustainable societies for our citizens.” The summit is the main forum for dialogue between European and Latin American states. The meeting will be chaired by EU Council President Donald Tusk and will gather 61 heads of state.

June 14-18: South Korea, US discuss security on Korean Peninsula, Washington, DC

South Korean President Park Geun-hye will be in Washington, DC from June 14-18 to meet with US President Barack Obama and discuss the security situation on the Korean Peninsula, including the North’s nuclear program. Park’s trip has been heavily criticized by the DPRK because it could overlap with a possible event marking the 15th anniversary of an inter-Korean summit.

June 22-25: UN post-2015 intergovernmental negotiations, New York

Negotiators working on the UN’s post-2015 development agenda will meet from June 22-25 at UN headquarters in New York to discuss in detail the final declaration of the new Sustainable Development Goals, to be published in September 2015. The four-day event will gather key stakeholders from the UN system, member states, and other intergovernmental organizations and will see a flurry of side events aimed at informing the ongoing discussions.

June 25-26: EU leaders’ summit, Brussels

Heads of state and government from the 28 EU member states will gather in Brussels on June 25-26 for their semi-annual summit. Migration and the Mediterranean crisis will be at the top of the agenda, as well as a set of reforms the newly re-elected government of British Prime Minister David Cameron is requesting. On May 28, the EU Commission unveiled a controversial plan to distribute migrants across the EU according to pre-established quotas.

June 26-July 1: 2015 Meeting of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, New York

The High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) will meet under the auspices of the United Nations Economic and Social Council in New York from June 26 to July 1. The forum will debate the theme of “Strengthening integration, implementation and review – the HLPF after 2015,” and will focus on how to follow up on the implementation of the post-2015 development agenda. The forum will also address follow up on the Rio+20 process and discuss the Samoa Conference on Small Island Developing States.

June 30: Iran, six world powers face final deadline to reach comprehensive nuclear agreement

June 30 marks the final deadline for Iran and six world powers—China, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Russia, and the US—to reach a final, comprehensive agreement on Tehran’s controversial nuclear program. Talks resumed in Vienna at the end of May to bridge any existing gaps before the final deadline. Speaking to lawmakers in Paris on May 27, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius warned that France would not accept a deal if Iran were to deny inspectors access to military sites, something Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei had suggested the previous week.

Also of interest:

June 5: World Environment Day

June 23: UN Peacebuilding Day