Latvia to Chair the UN Security Council for the First Time

From 1 November, Latvia will for the first time in its history take over the presidency of the United Nations Security Council for one month. The Security Council is the UN body responsible for maintaining international peace and security. While in the chair, the presiding country leads all of the council's official and informal meetings, and Latvia plans to focus particularly on the war in Ukraine, as well as on the challenges and opportunities created by new technologies.

A chance to raise Latvia's profile

Sanita Pavļuta-Deslandes, Latvia's ambassador to the UN, stresses that the presidency offers a way to strengthen the country's international recognition and defend its interests. Most of the council's agenda consists of previously scheduled meetings, but the presiding state can also initiate discussions on issues of particular importance to it. Latvia intends to use this opportunity to highlight its foreign policy and security priorities.

Ukraine to remain on the agenda

One of the main priorities will be to keep drawing the international community's attention to Russia's war against Ukraine. Pavļuta-Deslandes says that every effort is being made to keep the war high on the council's agenda, to prevent the normalisation of aggression, and to counter Russian propaganda and lies. She emphasises that Latvia's main goal in the council is to strengthen the country's security, including by supporting Ukraine.

This year the Security Council has already held 16 official meetings devoted to Ukraine. Nearly all of them were convened at Ukraine's request by Latvia together with European allies. Latvia has also organised discussions on the humanitarian consequences of Russian aggression, including the situation of prisoners of war and civilians, and on the illegal involvement of foreign nationals in the Russian army.