On June 10th 2020, the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA) organized the twenty-seventh 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 Zoom Meetings in lieu of its standard meeting location at the United Nations Headquarters.
The dialogue featured H.E. Mr. Nicolas de Rivière, Permanent Representative of France to the UN and H.E. Mr. Christoph Heusgen, Permanent Representative of Germany to the UN, the Presidents of the Security Council for the months of June and July, respectively. WFUNA's Secretary-General, Mr. Bonian Golmohammadi, moderated the briefing, which was virtually attended by approximately 74 participants from over 70 civil society organizations that RSVPed from different parts of the world.
The event was broadcast live on UN Web TV and also promoted on social media with the hashtag #MeetUNSCPres to allow for a participation from a global audience and wider stakeholder engagement.
Ambassador de Rivière shared the Council's programme of work for the month of June. He spoke about the meetings scheduled for this month in an effort to build on the Security Council’s agenda on issues regarding the Sahel, Mali, the DRC among others. The Ambassador emphasized the Security Council's ongoing plans amidst the COVID-19 pandemic to defend the core values of the UN Charter. Ambassador de Rivière also discussed plans to maintain transparency at the Security Council as much as possible along with promoting diversity through the showcase of multilingualism.
The intent to further the UNSC agenda was reiterated by Ambassador Heusgen during his opening remarks in reflection of Germany’s priorities for the month of July and collaboration with France and other European countries that previously held the UNSC Presidential seat at the Council this Spring. Ambassador Heusgen shared Germany’s priority of strengthening multilateralism at the Security Council and assessing the link between climate change and security.
The floor was then opened for questions from representatives of civil society organizations on country specific questions relating to Syria, Venezuela, and Libya, among others. Topics such as Conflict Prevention, Women, Peace and Security, Children and Armed Conflict as well as COVID-19 related topics on UNSC Resolutions 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-eighth CSO Dialogue!
