Civil Society Dialogue with United Nations Security Council President, H.E. Ms. Aglaia Balta (Greece)

Good morning, dear friends and colleagues. I hope you are all staying well and healthy. My name is Aziel Goul Andreis, and I am the Secretary General of the World Federation of UN Associations. And it is my great pleasure to welcome all of you today on behalf of our organizations for this CSO dialogue with the UN Security Council President. Ufuna works to strengthen the UN through grassroots activism with more than 100 UN associations around the world and with events like the one you are taking part in today. This is part of our UN Security Council transparency initiative. As part of this initiative, we host these monthly dialogues for civil society representatives to ask questions and, if I may, offer a polite scrutiny on the work of the UN Security Council. The involvement of civil society, I'm sure you all agree, and I already know that our host, our guest today agrees as well, is indispensable if we want to build a durable peace and maybe a durable UN as well. We are very honored today to welcome Her Excellency, Mrs. Aglaia Baltas of Greece. During its presidency, Greece's priority include upholding international law and the UN Charter, strengthening maritime security, and promoting the peaceful settlement of disputes. Greece also emphasizes in protecting children in armed conflict, advancing women, peace and security agenda, and addressing the links between climate change, peace and security. We look forward to hearing more from the ambassador. on Greece's priority for their presidency of the Security Council and the work accomplished so far. Before giving her the floor for some opening remarks, let me remind that interaction should focus exclusively on the work of the Council. This is very important as we want the ambassadors to keep on coming. So we don't want to be very much bothered by off-topic questions. We try to keep it very much on the work of the Council. Please keep your microphone on mute. All microphones are open, but I will be giving you the floor. The event is live streamed on UN Web TV, and I hear we have more than 80 participants from different UN organizations and CSOs, particularly from Geneva. We salute them. For those watching online, of course, if we reach any problem or technical issue, we thank you for your patience. As usual, with, as usual, with online events. Ambassador Balta, a warm welcome. The floor is yours for your opening remarks.

Dear Azizi, I'm very happy to participate in today's meeting and to have next to me a fellow countryman. I thank you for your introductory remarks as well. It is a pleasure, it is a real pleasure to be here with you today and to have the opportunity to present the Security Council's programme of work to the broader civil society community. We value the relationship and it's not only words, it's actions, because we think that the cooperation and the relationship with the civil society and NGOs is a very important link to what we can achieve here in the Council. I do not distinguish the cooperation, exchange of views and dialogue that we develop with civil society with the rest of our work with the Secretariat and fellow UN Member States. Your voice is an invaluable input and cannot be substituted, and the viewpoints, information and concerns shared enrich our work and broaden our perspectives. I would like to acknowledge WAFUN's work in providing a platform for dialogue on so many opportunities and in genuinely connecting Member States with the wider UN community. I would now like to walk you through the program of work, which, as you may have already witnessed, does not provide much time for pause. There is a substantial number of important mandated meetings, some high-level meetings, and a number of events that we hope will contribute. This is our main task that will contribute to the Council's broader work. Let me now turn to our key priorities. During the last week of October, I start by the end, we are planning to organize two signature events. The Prime Minister will chair an open debate on emerging technologies and maritime security on the 29th. This will be an open debate under the agenda item maintenance of international peace and security. The discussion will seek to identify how the optimal and responsible use of new technologies can strengthen existing capacities. It will also look at how innovative tools can be used to address evolving threats to international peace and security while remaining consistent with international law and the UN Charter. It will place particular emphasis on maritime security, which has been one of our core priorities during our tenure in the Security Council. We will update you, of course, on the briefers very soon. Furthermore, the Foreign Minister will chair a briefing on children and armed conflict on the 26th to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the CAQ mandate. the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Ms. Vanessa Fraser; the Executive Director of UNICEF, Ms. Katherine Russell; and the African Union Special Envoy for Children Affected by Armed Conflict, Ambassador Jagne, will brief the Council. Excuse me. We definitely plan to have a CSO briefer as well, and the name will be shared with you in due time. We have also scheduled two additional mandated open debates, one on the Middle East, it's the quarterly meeting on the 15th, and another on women, peace and security on the 27th. The Foreign Minister will chair the open debate on WPS and will have the pleasure to welcome the Secretary General as briefer, as well as the Executive Director of the UN Women, Ms. Sima Bahous, who will also have the opportunity to present the annual report on the file. A CSO representative will certainly be added here as well, with more information to follow soon. Prior to the open debate, we will hold the media staking of the signatories of the shared commitments on WPS, plus any other interested member states that would like to join the initiative. Moving on, we definitely seek to ensure meaningful participation by civil society representatives in a number of other mandated meetings. Africa, is another important priority for our presidency. The annual informal joint seminar and the joint consultative meeting between the Security Council and the AU PSC will take place on the 22nd and the 23rd of October. We place particular emphasis on this annual dialogue between the two bodies, which is why we are organizing an adjacent retreat on the 21st and the 22nd of October to provide additional space for member states to engage in enhanced informal deliberations on various issues of common interest. And of course, We will continue to address the many pressing situations that are already before the Council across the Middle East, Africa, Haiti, Colombia, Western Sahara and the Balkans, with CSO representatives having the opportunity to brief the Council in many of them. Now, the main issue of this month's presidency. Regarding straw polls, I wouldn't want to omit this part, which is very much in the spotlight. October is the month in which we need to make progress and perhaps even agree on the next SG. We have set aside a couple of slots for the straw polls in the selection of the SG in the first and second-half of the month. Of course, we will consult with all Member States and we will remain attentive to events. I don't want to go through, if you want me, I can go through the different dates and meetings that we have. It's up to you. Yes, okay. So, on October, today we had the discussion of the Security Council, the annual briefing between AU-UN cooperation, where the SG report was discussed, following the usual format of three institutional briefers, i.e. two from the UN and one from the AU. On the 8th, we will have consultations on UNDOF. And on the same day, we have scheduled consultations on MINURSO. On the 9th, we will have the briefing and consultations on Yemen. On the 12th, there is a briefing and consultations on Colombia, and it will take place in presence of the Foreign Minister of Colombia. In the afternoon, we will hold the briefing and consultations on Syria. On the 13th, on Great Lakes region. And on the 14th, the Council will adopt the resolution renewing the mandate of the Sanctions Committee on Haiti and the Panel of Experts. Then we will have a briefing and consultations on UNSMIL and Libya. On the 15th, as already mentioned, we will hold the quarterly open debate on the Middle East peace process. And on the 16th, the Council will hold the briefing and close consultations on Sudan and the 1591 Committee. On the 19th, we will hold the briefing followed by close consultations on Haiti. And on the 20th, we will have a briefing consultations on MINUSCA and the situation in Central African Republic. Then later in the same day, the Council will hold its semi-annual briefing on UNMIG. In the morning of the 21st, close consultations will be held on the 1559 report on Lebanon. Then later in the afternoon, as said, Greece will host a retreat for the Security Council, a UPSC informal joint seminar at the Green Tree State. Next day, on the 22nd, the Security Council will hold its annual informal joint seminar with the EAUPSC. And then on Friday, the last day of the week, October 23rd, the Security Council will hold its annual joint consultative meeting with the EAUPSC at the UN premises in the ECOSOC chamber. On the 26th, we will also have the first briefing on the Iraq-Kuwait missing persons, following the adoption of the resolution 2792 last year. On October 28th, we will have an ICJ briefing in the form of a private meeting. And finally, on Friday 30th, the Council will adopt in the morning a resolution on the annual renewal of the authorization of the Multinational Stabilization Force EUFOR, Operation ALTHEA, and on the renewal of the verification mission in Colombia. Following these adoptions, the Council will hold its semi-annual debate on Bosnia and Herzegovina, based on the latest report of the Office of the High Representative. Then, later in the afternoon, we'll be adopting also a resolution for the renewal of UNSMIL's mandate and a resolution renewing MINUSO's mandate. We will conclude. our presidency with a wrap-up session afterwards and the end of presidency reception. This is the outline of our programme of work for October. Having assumed the responsibility of the presidency of the Security Council, we will seek to facilitate consensus within the Council while remaining available to the wider membership of member states. It is an ambitious program and certainly a very busy one, but we look forward to keeping you informed and updated throughout the month and always being attentive to the civil society perspective. And I thank you.

Thank you very much, Madam Ambassador, and thank you for your kind words for my organization. We definitely wish the best for the straw polls and for the ambitious program that you just outlined. I have some pre-submitted questions, but if I'm not wrong, I don't see many of those in the-- we have many people in the room, but I don't see many of those who have pre-submitted the questions. So as we're entering into the question and answer phase, may I know if Mr. Benjamin Lapica Kibanda is here? I don't see him. or Somber Singh. No. But I do see Sofia Garcia. Sofia, you have the floor.

Thank you, and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for the briefing. Truly appreciate it. And thank you to WAFUNA for convening us monthly. My question is regarding, let's say, one of the big topics of conversations on the Security Council, which is its own reform. During High-Level Week, we had an event, and I should have said, I'm Sofia Garcia of the Article 109 Coalition. So together with partners like Oxfam International, Trust Africa and the Quincy Institute, we did an event trying to find solutions and proposed perspectives from civil society to unblock the reform of the Security Council. As we know, the IGN has been going on for 18 years and it doesn't seem to move forward. One of the proposals on the table was to go deeper and bigger and frame the Security Council reform within an overall review of UN Charter, which is what Article 109 is calling for. After your seat at the Security Council and on your experience on the last, or Greece's experience of the last years, do you think that deeper reform and that deeper rethink of the system would help unblock the negotiation dynamics of the Security Council, and what other alternatives come to mind in order to move forward to make it more effective and representative? Thank you.

And thank you for your question. We stand here today here, and this is an example of how we need the civil society to actively engage in this discussion for the future of our organization. And this is, of course, why the first question was yours. Very much with what I said earlier about the importance of dialogue. And this is one of our three themes for our tenure in the Security Council. And the dialogue with the civil society is very important because we need the perspectives and the expertise that will instill an important element in the process and in our conversation in the Council. Article 109 is one of the provisions of the Charter. Not to prejudge at this stage what particular avenues should be pursued or when, how and they should be activated because it's not the time. Let's be realistic. At present, I cannot elaborate on that. But I can emphasize that the discussion itself and discussions as this one that we have today remain open to different ideas and proposals. So that's why I want to thank you for this question. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Madam Ambassador. I see that the people who have pre-submitted are not here, but I will ask some questions that have been pre-submitted myself. And in the meantime, maybe those that have not pre-submitted, maybe we can prepare and we can have one or two questions from the floor after those questions are done. So the question from Mr. Lapica from the Solidarite Agissante pour le Developpement Familial organization. Excellency, during Greece's presidency for the Security Council, what concrete actions will you prioritize to strengthen conflict prevention and the protection of civilians, particularly women and children, in conflict-affected African countries, especially such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan?

So, because I don't want to forget anything, for us, protection of civilians is one of the priorities, one of the primary reasons why we work and strive in the Council. It's not redundant to say that ultimately, we are working for the people on the ground. And we see so many tragedies around the world that we feel responsible to deliver. So as far as the Democratic Republic of Congo is concerned, the Council is fully engaged. We have the immediate and full implementation of resolutions 2773 and 2808. And we have called on the M23 and Rwanda Defense Forces to halt their assault and retreat from all occupied areas in eastern DRC. We always call for state authority to be restored. We support the independence, sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of DRC. and the immediate and parallel governance of structures. All mediation efforts are welcome and sustainable and transparent governance of natural resources in the Great Lakes is important. We support MONUSCO. We hold great appreciation to the mission's protection of civilian efforts, and we stand ready to support any further engagement. We come now to Sudan, where we heard today that 11.4 million people are forcibly displaced. My country's population is less than that. So you can compare the numbers that we have. The meeting of Quad and Quintet during the high level week, despite not producing concrete deliverable is significant. And it forms the basis for a more systematic and operational coordination. We need this. And we thank UN, African Union, IGAD, regional and international partners that try to have this closer coordination and avoid the fragmented or competing political tracks. The Council's three main priorities are immediate humanitarian truce that is needed and it's long overdue. durable ceasefire, inclusive political process. There's no military solution to this conflict, and lack of existence of a genuine dialogue between the parties should end. And the protections of civilians, women, girls, conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence, international humanitarian law, accountability, safe and unhindered humanitarian access must be immediately established. The protection of civilians that I was referring earlier. Greece's engagement is not limited to discussions We actively contribute, including to humanitarian pledges. We support practical priorities such as safe humanitarian corridors, assistance to countries hosting Sudanese refugees, and we call on the external actors to refrain from actions prolonging the conflict and external interference and use influence and support of the escalation of negotiations. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Excellency. Then I have a question on women, peace and security from Lady T. Thompson from the UN Association of the USA. And again, if the floor wants to prepare for questions, I think we can open for one or two afterwards, just after this one. In light of the documented weaponization of sexual violence in various armed conflicts in the world and the disproportionate displacement and protection burdens borne by women and girls in Haiti, for example. What concrete mechanisms will Greece prioritize to ensure that women led civil society organizations and survivors meaningfully shape ceasefire deliberations, humanitarian access, peacebuilding frameworks and so on, all that consistent with UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on WPS?

So, as I said earlier, we are going to hold the open debate on WPS, an agenda that holds many challenges. The main problem at the moment is that the rhetorical commitments that we have made have not yet been translated into political will and concrete actions. We have 117 national action plans on WPS. Do you know how many of them are being actually implemented? I don't. If you have an answer, please. Yeah, but can we trust them yet? The Secretary General asked for women to constitute at least 30% of participants in peace processes. Tools are there. We just need to make full use of them. Up to now, I think maybe we should ask the AI again to see how many of them we use. And the the resource of the WPS agenda has been consistently underfunded, as many others, but this should be one of the priorities. As I said, we will organize this high-level event On the, sorry, I didn't say that. We will organize a high level side event of the protection of women journalists in conflict together with UNESCO and UN Women. We find this is one of the questions that need to be raised regularly due to the very many crisis that we are facing around the world.

Thank you very much, Madam Ambassador. I saw a question from the floor. If you want, when you ask your question, please say the organization or the mission that you are with and your name. The lady in red, and then you.

Madam. My name is Emily, and I'm the EU delegate to the United Nations. My question is regarding young people. Young people are increasingly starting to question the credibility of the Security Council. What do you think should be implemented so that we can restore that trust?

Thank you for your question. Actually, you know, it's been two years now that we have a youth delegate in our mission as well, and we are very proud of them because their presence was clearly positive in the work of the mission, because Youth brings something new, a birth to the discussion. So what I would suggest from our part, we're doing everything we can to engage in the dialogue, the youth, because not only in the work of the mission, but trying to instill this mentality within the work of the Council. We need to hear the voice and we need to have them on board. But may I ask something from you as well, from the youth? Stay engaged. Stay engaged with a structured dialogue. Don't get disappointed because at the end of the day, you will see that you will have made a difference.

Thank you very much. And it is truly a pleasure to see we have, I think, six or seven young delegates in the room. So thank you very much. Madam.

Thank you very much. My name is Juliette Coleman from Security Women. I'm the director of Security Women, which is an advocacy and research organization for a greater participation of women in the security and defense sector. You said that the annual debate on women, peace and security is going to take place on the 27th of October. And I was interested that your comments about that 30% in the peace operations is the target from the Secretary General for women to be part of that. You also said it was underfunded, women, peace and security. I would like to see greater participation of women in the peace operations and their full and meaningful participation. Absolutely. And I just wondered what concrete steps are you going to take to ensure that women do have a greater participation, meaningful, and also how is that going to be funded?

You know, for the second part of your question, I don't have an answer today because the the fund, the funding, because there are it's a very complex issue. But I will talk about women's participation in in in the peacekeeping operations in in defense. And I will start with the selection of the SG. It's very important that I do not, I don't want to prejudge and it's not my place to do that, so, but I think it's high time that we have women in high positions, first of all. Second, During the, when one sees how the crisis evolved, you see women participating in addressing and making sure that in times of crisis of their countries, help to find the solution, when the solution is is there, they disappear into oblivion and the men take over. You do not have the participation of women, the adequate participation of women in the process, in the political process. And I had a discussion with my African friends, my African colleagues who say that they need to to help and contribute in this women's participation. So the dialogue and the discussion is there, the wish and the will is there, but it's not something that can happen tomorrow. From our side, I can assure you, because we have the selection at the moment, the process, we are actively participating in having women and thank God that this roster of candidates we have four women, which is great. We do not know the end, if we have a woman Secretary General, but in the roster we have four women and that's a success of itself.

Thank you. Thank you very much, Madam Ambassador, and thank you for those questions. Do we have any last question from the floor? I do not see any, and I think we can, I will let the Ambassador have the last word with her. Oh, you have some? Sorry. No. Yes, I will let the Ambassador have the last word with her closing remarks, but not before thanking her wholeheartedly, because it's always difficult to come to these meetings, because the agenda is already packed. But these days it's even more difficult. I hear there are some straw polls going on. So we appreciate particularly, and I think that the presence of the ambassador today and all the ambassadors that come is a testimony to the importance they give to civil society. So thank you very much. And I turn to you for your closing remarks.

You know, Azaleh, why it is difficult to come here and be with you because we realize that you have many questions and maybe you have a perception, not perceptions, misgivings that we do not do much. And it's not true because it's not something that one country or two can progress. It's an effort of many, but I would like to reassure you that the will is here to help you improve the situation of those in need and those who need to advance, as you said. So my mission, not only for the month of October, but my mission will be attentive to your questions, to your proposals anytime. And thank you for being here today.

Thank you.