Rõivas: Estonia interested in being involved in matters of global security
Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas (Reform) said in a meeting at the UN’s headquarters in New York on Monday that Estonia was interested in being involved more in matters of global security, and that one of its biggest foreign policy goals after the EU presidency was becoming a temporary member of the UN Security Council.
Rõivas said that the phrase “Never again alone” had a very clear meaning to Estonia, and the country not only had to think about its own region and Europe, but play a role in matters of global security as well. “Only like this will we be able to keep the matters that are important to us on the agenda and be sure that we are heard and that our position is being taken into account,” Rõivas said.
Estonia has already demonstrated that there is room for contributions by smaller countries by taking on the responsibility of working out the criteria for the renewed election procedure for the position of the UN’s Secretary General. It has worked on the new criteria sharing its responsibility with Costa Rica, another small state.
The renewed procedure is more transparent. For the first time in 70 years, UN member countries have submitted their candidacies publicly, and there are hearings taking place to find out about the candidates’ positions.
“The transparency of the election process is very important to Estonia, as it is in our interest that the new Secretary General of the UN taking office next year is really the best of all candidates and independent in their convictions,” Rõivas said.
The prime minister spoke to the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and met with President of the United Nations General Assembly Mogens Lykketoft as well as UNICEF's executive director Anthony Lake on Monday.
A meeting with Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is planned for Tuesday.
Estonia joined the United Nations in 1991 and continuously worked on its role and contribution to the organization. It is a member of the ACT group (Accountability, Coherence, Transparency), where together with Costa Rica it is responsible for the renewal of the election criteria for the position of UN Secretary General.
Also, Estonia’s permanent representative to the UN, Sven Jürgenson, is vice-president of ECOSOC and president of UNICEF’s executive board.
In 2005 Estonia submitted its candidacy for a temporary seat on the UN’s Security Council in 2020-21.
Editor: Editor: Dario Cavegn