Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Development Cooperation Alexander De Croo (Open Vld) flies to New York on Wednesday to chair the United Nations Security Council on Thursday.
The session will be dominated by the humanitarian situation in Syria. The Flemish liberal will be back in Belgium in the evening. Mr. De Croo arrives Wednesday at noon local time at Big Apple. This lightning visit is exclusively dedicated to the Security Council, while in the afternoon the Deputy Prime Minister will meet various representatives of the international organization.
Thursday will begin with a breakfast bringing together the 10 elected members of the Security Council, currently alongside Belgium, the Dominican Republic, Germany, Estonia, Indonesia, Niger, Saint- Vincent and the Grenadines, Tunisia, Vietnam and South Africa
Germany should probably be represented by Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.
The meeting of the Security Council will then take place and, since Belgium has chaired this important body since February, Mr. De Croo will lead the discussions. The session will focus on humanitarian corridors in Syria, those border crossings through which aid can be channeled to war-torn parts of the country that are not under the control of President Bashar al-Assad.
In January, the Security Council decided – after a week-long standoff – to establish two humanitarian corridors in Syria until June, via two Turkish border posts. It was a resolution revised by Belgium and Germany, which also aims to authorize cross-border aid via Iraq but which comes up against a refusal by Russia, an ally of Syria.
Nevertheless, the Security Council has asked Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to study the possibilities of a humanitarian corridor through Iraq. His report, which will be presented at Thursday’s meeting, will be the starting point for diplomatic and political discussions on what should happen after June.
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