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Turkey has invited leaders of the 14 other Security Council nations to a summit meeting later this month to strengthen the council's primary mission — maintaining international peace and security in a world of new and complex threats.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul, whose country holds the rotating council presidency, will chair the Sept. 23 meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly's annual ministerial session.
Turkey's U.N. Ambassador Ertugrul Apakan told reporters Thursday that a key aim is to have the leaders reaffirm the council's determination to play a stronger role in the political settlement of disputes and in implementing peace agreements.
The high-level exchange "is expected to raise global awareness on the new and evolving threats and challenges to international peace and security and empower the council and operational tools available to it — namely preventive diplomacy, peacemaking, peacekeeping and post-conflict peacebuilding," he said.
Apakan said a presidential statement expected to be adopted by the leaders at the end of the meeting will hopefully underline the need for a comprehensive approach to peace and "the necessity for new and stronger partnership between the Security Council and our collaborators within and outside the U.N. system."
The ambassador said the meeting will be attended by leaders from a majority of council nations, but he refused to give any names.
U.S. President Barack Obama, in his debut appearance on the world stage a year ago, chaired a high-level meeting of the Security Council on disarmament and efforts to halt the spread of nuclear weapons. The U.S. held the council presidency in September 2009.
Obama is likely to speak again at this year's General Assembly meeting, but its not known whether he will attend the council summit.
Turkey will also hold a ministerial meeting of the council on Sept. 27 which will take stock of the global fight against terrorism since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States.
Shortly after the attacks, the Security Council adopted a resolution requiring all states to criminalize terrorist acts, increase co-operation to prevent terrorist attacks, deny terrorists safe haven and financial resources, and prevent them from crossing borders.
Apakan said that in the last nine years, the international community has come a long way in combatting terrorism.
"However, this scourge has unfortunately proven to be extremely resilient by adapting itself to changing circumstances and exploiting every gap or loophole they find in our common stance," he said.
"Therefore, we have to be equally committed and resilient in our fight against this threat," Apagan said. "We must never be complacent with our achievements and always try to do better ... considering that no country is immune from the peril of terrorism."
He expressed hope that the discussion and a statement to be adopted by the ministers "will help re-energize the international community's campaign against terrorism and highlight the areas of priority that require continued and concerted action."
