Last October, New Zealand won a seat for two years on the Security Council. This started in New York today (January 1st New York time). Our representative is our United Nations Ambassador, Jim McLay. He sits between Malaysia and Nigeria because the seating is in alphabetical order. Each country takes a turn at being the Chairman for a month. Our turn comes in July this year. Usually, the country which is chairing the meetings, has a special interest which is presented to members that month. For New Zealand, it could be the Pacific Islands.
The Security Council is responsible for international peace and security. About 85% of the issues discussed concern Africa and the Middle East but members have to be prepared to discuss and vote on many issues. Since October, when New Zealand won the seat, Foreign Affairs Ministry has been very busy preparing about 50 background papers to give our representative plenty of information.
Listen to October 18th 2014 to hear more about the Security Council.
Vocabulary
• seating – system of where seats are placed
• Chairman, Chairperson, The Chair (n), to chair a meeting (v) – the person who leads the discussion
• issues – matters that are important e.g. Ebola
• background papers – information about the background to an issue e.g. the history, problems etc
Questions
1. What issues do you think are important for the Security Council to discuss?
2. Can you think of important issues which are not related to Africa or the Middle East?
3. Many Pacific Islands are worried about climate change and rising sea levels. Is this a Security Council matter?