United Nations — US First Lady Melania Trump chaired a UN Security Council meeting on Monday focused on children in conflict, one of her key issues, and acknowledged she was doing so in “difficult times” as the US joined Israel in the war. Attacking Iran.
“The United States stands with all children around the world,” she said, speaking generally but not specifically about the new war in the Middle East. “I hope peace will come to you soon.”
Monday’s meeting was overshadowed by what Iranian state media said was an airstrike that hit a girls’ school in southern Iran, killing at least 165 people and wounding dozens. The Israeli army said it had no knowledge of raids in the area. The US Army said it was studying these reports.
Shortly before Monday’s session began, Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Saeed Iravani said it was “extremely shameful and hypocritical” for the United States to hold a meeting on protecting children during conflict while launching air strikes on Iranian cities.
“For the United States, it is clear that ‘protecting children’ and ‘maintaining international peace and security’ mean something very different from what the UN Charter stipulates,” he told reporters.
Rosemary DiCarlo, a political affairs official at the United Nations, said that the international organization is aware of reports of deaths at the girls’ school. She pointed to the impact of the US-Israeli strikes and Iranian retaliatory strikes on children throughout the region.
“We have been reminded of this fact over the past two days,” she told the Security Council. She said: “Schools in Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman have closed their doors and moved to distance learning due to the ongoing military operations in the region.”
It was Melania Trump First husband From a world leader to take the president’s seat at the United Nations’ most powerful body, charged with ensuring global peace and security, according to the UN
President Donald Trump’s wife had the opportunity with the United States assuming the presidency of the Council for the month of March. In the past, presidents, prime ministers, and secretaries of state often wielded the hammer.
Melania Trump said in her speech that “peace does not have to be fragile.”
“Lasting peace will be achieved when knowledge and understanding are fully valued in all our societies,” she said, urging Security Council members to “protect learning.”
While the First Lady has spoken of the need to protect children and their access to education and technology in conflict, her husband’s administration has cut funding to a number of UN agencies and other international organizations that address these issues.
Among them is the UN Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children in Armed Conflict, which provides detailed reports on the impact of conflicts on children around the world. This information can help motivate action to prevent rape and violence against women and children. President Trump withdrew US support in January.
The United States also significantly reduced its funding for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and withdrew from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
DiCarlo told the council that the world is facing the largest number of armed conflicts since World War II. “The number of civilians killed in these conflicts is the highest in decades,” she said. “Our reality is clear: when conflicts break out, children are among those most affected.”
The First Lady arrived at the United Nations headquarters in a procession and was received by UN Secretary-General António Guterres. She shook hands with each of the 15 Security Council members and took a group photo.
The Council’s rotating president has the right to choose the topic and participants in some meetings. A meeting was scheduled for the Monday before the war began.
The last meeting of the Council was on Saturday Controversial emergency session It was called in response to the start of the war. Guterres condemned the US and Israeli air strikes and described them as violations of international law, including the UN Charter. He also condemned Iranian retaliatory attacks for violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states in the Middle East.
Melania Trump took an unusual step last summer Write a message She informed Russian President Vladimir Putin before his summit with her husband and later announced that the efforts led to the displacement of a group of children due to the Russian-Ukrainian war. They are reunited with their families.
Putin Invasion of Ukraine In 2022 it resulted in Russia Taking Ukrainian children outside their country so they can be bred as crossbreds. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has pressured world leaders to help reunite families.