Rwanda begins United Nations Security Council presidency

Rwanda yesterday began its one-month presidency of the United Nations Security Council in what will be the country’s second and last stint at the helm of the body in its current non-permanent member term. The country’s two-year membership of the Security Council ends in December, 2014. Rwanda’s presidency comes at a time when the country is marking its 20th liberation and at a period when it is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its participation in international peacekeeping operations. Rwanda takes over from Russia, which held the Security Council presidency for the month of June. During its presidency, Rwanda says it will seek to galvanise international commitment to effective peacekeeping operations. “That is why the main event of our presidency will be a high-level, open debate on peacekeeping, regional partnership and its evolution,” said Chantal Uwizera, the press attaché at Rwanda’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations. Rwanda boasts more than 5,000 peacekeepers in various international missions around the around, which puts it among the top six troop contributing countries worldwide. The presidency of the 15-member UNSC is rotated among the members in an alphabetical order. Only five Security Council member states hold a permanent member-status. Peacekeeping operations is said to be one of the international community’s most effective tools to manage threats to international peace and security. Led by the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO, there are currently a total of 17 peacekeeping operations, with a total of 121,500 personnel, in various missions. Rwanda’s commitment to contributing to the maintenance of international peace and security is based on the firm belief that the international community has a responsibility to prevent conflict and to act when confronted with challenges to peace and security, according to government officials. This principle is also influenced by the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and the failure of the international community to intervene. Foreign affairs minister Louise Mushikiwabo, said recent trends around the world suggest that security issues are not getting any better which calls for collective and adequate attention from the international community. “We will be bringing to the Council debates and constructive aspects on peacekeeping. It will be an important debate for the Council,” she told journalists in Kigali recently. “Unfortunately, the need for peacekeeping is not going down since we cannot manage conflicts, which is why this is a topic of relevance.”

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Rwanda begins United Nations Security Council presidency