Maldives seeks seat in United Nations Security Council (UNSC) aiming for international support for survival, at a time when most Western nations are either cutting down on development aid or diverting funds to boost domestic security, according to the Foreign Secretary of Maldives.
This is the first time in its 51 years of United Nations membership that the Maldives has presented its candidacy for a seat in UNSC. Over the past 25 years, only 6 Small Island Developing States (SIDS) have served the council, out of the 125 elected members during that period. SIDS constitutes 20% of the United Nations membership.
Since January 2015, the Maldives has chaired the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), a group it helped form in 1990, leading a coalition of 39 member states, of which 37 are UN Members, through landmark agreements on sustainable development, climate change, disaster risk reduction, financing for development, sustainable urbanization, and the follow-up to the SAMOA Pathway- the sustainable development programme of action for SIDS. In a long-planned effort, the Maldives put forward its candidature on 30 January 2008: ten years before the election, which will take place next year in the 193-member United Nations General Assembly which will vote for new, rotating non-permanent members of the UNSC.
The Foreign Secretary of Maldives, Ahmed Sareer, who held the chairmanship of AOSIS for over two years, said the Maldives seeks to bring a fresh and unique perspective to old challenges. The Foreign Secretary added that Maldives believes that non-traditional security threats are as important if not more, than traditional security threats, in today's world. Foreign Secretary Sareer said that Maldives also believes in multi-dimensional approaches to solving issues. He said that despite the size, the Maldives has always punched above its weight on the international stage and that it has been a staunch advocate for climate change, and a champion of small States.
Answering a question posed by Inter Press Service (IPS) whether the 2016 Paris Climate Change Agreement reflected the fears expressed by SIDS on sea level rise, Ambassador Ahmed Sareer said sea level rise is just one of the many impacts of climate change, which are of significance to SIDS.