The Czech Republic will run for non-permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council in 2032 and 2033. Photo credit: Jan Lipavsky, via Facebook.
Prague, May 31 (CTK) – The Czech Republic will run for non-permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in 2032 and 2033, Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said at a press conference today after a meeting of top Czech elected officials.
The Czech Republic was a non-permanent member of the UNSC in 1994-1995. The country also put itself forward to join the council In 2007, but Croatia was chosen instead.
The election of the UNSC membership for 2032-2033 will be held in 2031.
Lipavsky (Pirates) said he consulted President Petr Pavel and Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) on this step in advance.
“We live in a time when Russia is violating the world order, attacking the core of European civilisation, and even we, the Czech Republic, a Central European country, feel responsible for the defence of the UN Charter,” Lipavsky said.
“We want to contribute to maintaining the international order and security and promoting human rights,” he said.
Lipavsky noted that Czechoslovakia was at the foundation of the UN. Czechoslovak Foreign Minister Jan Masaryk signed the UN Charter as a foundational document. “We are prepared to take part in global security even through membership of the Security Council,” he said.
The UN Security Council has 15 members, including five permanent members: China, France, Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The UN General Assembly elects the remaining ten non-permanent members for two-year terms. The candidates are chosen based on regions.
In September 2022, Lipavsky gave the first speech by a Czech representative at the UNSC after nearly 30 years. He called for the establishment of a special international tribunal to prosecute the crimes of aggression against Ukraine committed by Russia. He said then that Russia’s colonialist policy and imperial aims “must be rejected for good”, recalling that Czechoslovakia was invaded by Moscow-led forces in 1968, and became an occupied colony for more than two decades.
