On May 4th 2020, the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA) organized the twenty-sixth installment in a series of monthly dialogues between the President of the UN Security Council and Civil Society organizations. To uphold transparency and accountability at the UNSC amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the CSO Dialogue was held online via GoToMeeting in lieu of its standard meeting location at the United Nations Headquarters.
The dialogue featured H.E. Mr. Sven Jürgenson, Permanent Representative of Estonia to the UN, briefing civil society representatives on Estonia's presidency of the Security Council for the month of May. WFUNA's Secretary-General, Mr. Bonian Golmohammadi, moderated the briefing, which was virtually attended by approximately 90 participants from civil society organizations from different parts of the world.
The event was broadcast on UN Web TV, and it was promoted on social media with the hashtag #MeetUNSCPres to allow for a participation from a global audience and wider stakeholder engagement.
Ambassador Jürgenson shared the Council's programme of work for the month of May. He spoke about the meetings scheduled for May in an effort to build on the Security Council’s agenda. Ambassador Jürgenson emphasized the Security Council's ongoing plans amidst the COVID-19 pandemic to address Peace and Security matters such as the protection of civilians in armed conflict, as well as ongoing issues in Syria, Libya and Somalia, among others. The floor was then opened for questions from representatives of civil society organizations on country specific questions relating to Yemen and Venezuela, among others. Topics such as Youth, Peace, and Security, as well as COVID-19 related topics on Humanitarian Access, the call for a Global Ceasefire by the UN SG, and Climate Change were also addressed.
In case you missed it, you can watch the full debate below.
WFUNA will continue hosting monthly briefings with subsequent Presidents of the United Nations Security Council. Stay tuned for more information on the twenty-seventh CSO Dialogue!
