The use of children in armed conflicts is one of the main priority issues which will be brought up during Malta’s Presidency of the United Nations Security Council, Minister for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade Ian Borg announced.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Borg spoke of how Malta, starting from Wednesday 1 February, will hold the Presidency of the United Nations Security Council for the whole month.
He said that Malta will hold the same position in April 2024.
Delving further into the topic of the use of children in armed conflicts, Borg said that the aim is to seek ways in which these children can be protected. There will be specialised focus groups of children who have been given asylum in Malta, where they are going to be asked what their experience was together with ways in which they think such children should be assisted when they get out of the war zone.
“This is an important day where we are going to continue collectively promote international peace and prevent conflict,” the Minister said.
He added that the priorities to be discussed during the coming presidency revolve around many sectors, because “right now around the world there world there is a lot of conflict.”
Another topic which is going to be discussed is climate and oceans “on which Malta was the first to bring forward the topic with the UN back in the 1960s.”
He added that since then the topic has evolved, as now there is more material to work with, such as the rising sea levels across the world.
On the matter he said that this can become a threat to national security as new borders would need be discussed since the country’s territory would be changing.
Another theme that is on the agenda is women’s role in achieving peace and security.
Mentioning the war in Ukraine, the minister said that since events are always happening, change is always constant, “however the war is going to be given all the necessary and needed attention.”
“When you [Malta as a country] assume 97 per cent of all votes from the Security Council apart from the national interest, there is also the interest of the international community,” he said.
On the matter he said that Malta together with other UN members need to prioritise what is necessary for its “people and countries”, while also appealing that the Ukrainian war needs to change.
He said that the UN knows Malta’s direction for diplomacy and members have agreed to deliver accordingly.
On the 23 February, Malta will be present for the annual briefing between Europe and the UN, whilst the following day (24 February) which marks the first anniversary “since Russia decided to invade Ukraine”, there is going to be a discussion held on ways in which this war can be tackled efficiently.