Today 2 January, an official ceremony was held in New York to raise the Estonian flag among other elected members in front of the UN Security Council hall. Estonia is the elected member of the UN Security Council in 2020 and 2021.
Estonia’s Permanent Representative to the UN Sven Jürgenson spoke at the ceremony. According to Jürgenson, a lot can be achieved at the UN Security Council to alleviate human suffering in the world and preserve the order based on international law.
“Estonia is contributing to ensuring that the UN Security Council discusses all the conflicts and crises that involve the violation of international law and human rights. It is particularly important to protect women and children that are caught in conflicts. We will also focus on topics and regions on which we have taken a leading role at the Security Council, such as the chairing of the Sudan and Iraq sanctions committees,” Jürgenson added.
As an elected member of the UN Security Council, Estonia will attend all sessions, have the right to vote and will chair two sanctions committees. As a member of the Security Council, Estonia will also be able to present topics in the forms of discussions and briefings; for example, there are plans to raise awareness about international cyber norms and the application of existing international law in cyberspace. In 2020, Estonia will take over the presidency of the Security Council in May.
The UN Security Council is tasked with protecting peace and security in the world. The Security Council has 15 members, with five permanent and 10 elected members. Estonia will begin its membership at the UN Security Council in January 2020 with four new members: Niger, Tunisia, Vietnam, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Estonia is a member with these four countries until the end of 2021. Belgium, Germany, the Dominican Republic, Indonesia, and South Africa will continue as non-permanent members in 2020 alongside five permanent members, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and China. The next five non-permanent members for the 2021-2022 period will be elected in the 2020 vote.
Photos: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmKrdBs2 (gallery being updated)
Additional information:
Britta Tarvis
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia
Communication Department
[email protected]
+372 637 7627 / +372 5194 7045