Credit: .diplomatie.gouv.fr/ France and Germany will consecutively chair the UN Security Council in March and April 2019.

By Gary Raynaldo   DIPLOMATIC TIMES

France will assume the presidency of the UN Security Council for one month on March 1, 2019 to be followed by Germany in April.  The two European countries have agreed to form a  sort of Franco-German multilateral alliance by jointly preparing the Security Council’s working agenda for the two months. When asked at a press conference in Paris what issues will be priority for France next month when it takes over the  presidency of the Security Council:

“It will focus on active support for peacekeeping, especially in Mali; conflict resolution and the commitment to peace; strengthening humanitarian access and protecting humanitarian personnel working in dangerous areas; compliance with international humanitarian law; and the defense of women in armed conflict and boosting their participation in the peace process.”

Statement by the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs Spokesperson (Paris – February 25, 2019)

 Paris And Berlin Join Forces On The UN Security Council to Promote Multilateralism

Credit: France Diplomatie / Germany Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (Left) and France Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian

 As a founding  member of the  UN in 1945, France holds a permanent seat on the  Security Council and therefore has the right of veto. Germany is a non-permanent member and was elected to serve on the Security Council from 2019 to 2020. The Security Council is composed of 15 members; 5 permanent members and 10-non-permanent members, each elected for 2 years.  Germany Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and France Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian wrote a joint article at the start of the Munich Security Conference Feb. 15, 2019 laying out the terms of the two working programs of the countries.  According to the article, the main objective of the “dual UN Security Council presidency” is to defend multilateralism .

“The multilateral order is experiencing its perhaps gravest crisis since its emergence after the Second World War. Unfortunately, it can no longer be taken for granted that an international rules-based system is seen by all as the best guarantor of our security and prosperity.”

Germany Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and France Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian joint statement

According to the Franco-German diplomatic proclamation,  “the international order is under huge pressure. Some players are increasingly engaging in power politics, thus undermining the idea of a rules-based order with a view to enforcing the law of the strong. At the same time, criticism of seemingly inefficient international cooperation is growing in many societies, also in some Western countries. Ever more people are rejecting it as too expensive, acting as though global problems such as climate change, migration and cyber security could be successfully tackled at national level. The rivalry among major powers and growing nationalism have resulted in an increasingly fragmented world order – in political, economic and social terms. To counter this trend, like minded states must make common cause and double their efforts to promote multilateralism. France and Germany intend to lead the way.”

Credit: new-york-un.diplo.de / Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany to the United Nations – New York

“The United Nations is at the heart of the multilateral system.  We are living at a time when we need more international order, more reliability, more confidence in our common rules. The United Nations is as strong, just and effective as its members make it.”

Germany Foreign Minister Heiko Maas,    Deutsche Welle TV.

FRANCE AND GERMANY PLEDGE UNITY WITH OTHER EUROPEAN PARTNERS AT UN:

“France and Germany are prepared to act in unison with other partners as the engine and hub for the network. To this end, Paris and Berlin will take advantage of Germany’s membership of the UN Security Council in 2019 and 2020 to work together on strengthening multilateralism. In particular, we will cooperate closely when we successively hold the Presidency of the UN Security Council in New York in March and April of this year.”  

Germany Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and France Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.

The German and French Foreign Ministers concluded:

“The European Union is a cornerstone of the multilateral system. Compromise and consensus are deeply embedded in its DNA. We Europeans are therefore a reliable partner for those who want to uphold the rules-based order and who are prepared to shoulder more responsibility to this end. “