SEYCHELLES GET AFRICAN UNION NOD TO BID FOR 2017/18 UN SECURITY COUNCIL SEAT
The Seychelles have started their campaign to be elected to the UN Security Council as a non permanent member for the years 2017 and 2018, after being cleared by the African Union as a continental candidate. The tiny Indian Ocean country has in recent years distinguished itself before the African and world community by being part of a number of global initiatives, amongst them the fight against the Somali piracy menace where it not only provides a base for aerial surveillance but also actively participates in hunting down pirates, including several successful rescue missions. Another area in the international arena for the Seychelles has been the building of a global coalition of island nations, now facing the stark prospect of rising ocean waters due to global warming and the melting of the worlds ice caps, where President Michel has made it his personal mission to lobby amongst fellow heads of state for measures to slow global warming down. The Seychelles have never before been elected to serve on the UNSC, a fact not lost on the friends of the Creole tropical island paradise, to whom the country is now turning on the continent to secure the necessary votes and commitment to be elected as African representative to the UNs most important organ.
President James Alix Michel, when making the announcement to the assembled Seychellois Ambassadors and High Commissioners, was reported to have said: We can bring a unique perspective to the work of the Security Council. We have demonstrated our readiness for this seat by playing a leading role in the fight against piracy and for the advancement of peace and stability in Somalia. More recently, our mediation efforts in resolving the crisis in Madagascar have been internationally recognized by our partners. And we shall continue to provide the leadership and the support that are required in this process. It would be naïve to pretend that we live in a just multilateral system. We have made great strides but many inequalities remain. Humanity remains confronted with poverty, wars, conflicts, disease, injustice. We have become so blasé towards them, so inured to them, that more often than not they merit just a passing mention in the international media. Yet, we can make a difference. This small nation of ours, whose flag bearers you are, can make a difference. We have values that we can share with and impart to the rest of the world. These values are solidly anchored in our abiding faith in the inherent goodness of humanity.
It is understood from a reliable source in Mahe that the Seychelles efforts to become a UNSC member for the years 2017 / 2018 will be anchored not only in regular diplomatic efforts but also find its way in the PR and marketing juggernaut of promoting the archipelago as one of the worlds most sought after tourism destinations, to gain new friends from around the world and make the global community take notice of a country, which has well over 50 percent of its land mass dedicated to conservation and the protection of biodiversity. Watch this space.
