Lithuanian foreign minister to preside over UN Security Council debates

With the debate on journalist safety on Wednesday, Lithuania aims to remind that freedom of expression is a natural right and urge the international community to take action in an effort to ensure safety of journalists and other media representatives, the Foreign Ministry said. Lithuania is preparing a Security Council resolution on protection of journalists in conflict zones.

At the debates, speeches will be made by UN Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson and Secretary General of the Reporters Without Borders non-governmental organization, Christophe Deloire.

Lithuania and its Baltic neighbour Latvia, which holds presidency of the European Council in the first half of 2015, will also organize an event on protection of journalists and media freedom.

On Friday, Linkevičius will preside over a ministerial-level meeting dedicated to the practical challenges of the implementation of the UN Security Council resolution on foreign terrorists. Participants of the meeting should search for ways of combatting threats caused by terrorists. The event should result in a presidency statement – a document which equals to a resolution and is binding to all member-states of the United Nations.

Linkevičius’ agenda in New York also includes a meeting with Eliasson to discuss the conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East, migration in the Mediterranean Sea and other issues on the international agenda.

The meeting with businessman and philanthropist George Soros should address the possibilities of cooperation with the European Humanities University, which this year celebrates a decade of operations in Lithuania.

On January 1, 2014, Lithuania became non-permanent member of the Security Council for two years and is presiding over the UN Security Council for the second and final time during its 2014-2015 membership.