On 8 June 2018, Belgium obtained a non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council after having led a campaign under the motto “Fostering Consensus. Acting for Peace”. It was elected by 181 Member States in the UN General Assembly, and will therefore take part, for the sixth time in its history, in the discussions and votes of the institution in charge of international peace and security.

As a strong advocate for multilateralism and international cooperation, Belgium considers that conflict prevention, peacekeeping and restoration of peace are essential elements of its foreign policy. As a result, Belgian Blue Helmets participated in various peacekeeping operations, including in Kashmir, Korea, Somalia, ex-Yugoslavia and Rwanda, where ten of these Blue Helmets lost their lives, which put temporarily an end to Belgium’s participation in UN operations. However, in 2006, Belgium contributed again to UN operations by sending troops to Lebanon. Belgian soldiers are currently deployed in Mali as part of peacekeeping operations, as well as in Afghanistan for Security Council-mandated operations.

What programme did Belgium support in order to obtain a non-permanent seat in the Security Council? What is the applicable procedure for obtaining such a seat and how did the negotiations take place? What will be the impact on Belgian operations? What elements does Belgium intend to highlight in order to improve the efficiency of peacekeeping operations or Security Council-mandated operations? What is its point of view about ongoing issues?

We are honoured to welcome Madam Ambassador Bénédicte Frankinet, who will share her experience as a special envoy for the Belgian campaign for a non-permanent seat in the Security Council and will attempt to shed light on these different topics.

This conference will take place on Tuesday 29 January 2019 at 17:00 hours in the conference centre of the Campus Renaissance (entrance: rue Hobbema 8, 1000 Brussels). The lecture will be given in French, with simultaneous translation into Dutch and English. Parking is available on the Cinquantenaire esplanade in front of the Royal Museum of Armed Forces and Military History. We are looking forward to welcoming you and kindly ask you to confirm your participation by registering online on the RHID website: www.rhid.be.

Pre-registration is mandatory to access the premises and must reach us not later than Thursday 24 January 2019.

Programme:

16.30 u                               :           Welcome

17.00 u                               :           Conference and Q&A

18.30 u - 19.30 u           :           Reception