NEW YORK (UN) – Wednesday, 31 May 2023 (APS) –  Algeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and National Community Abroad, Ahmed Attaf said Tuesday evening from New York that Algeria would continue its contribution as a “responsible and reliable” partner to global challenges, emphasizing ideas and initiatives to strengthen the role of multilateralism in preserving international peace and security.

The FM was speaking at a reception held at UN headquarters as part of activities to promote and mobilize support for Algeria’s candidature to serve as a non-permanent member of the Security Council for the period 2024-2025.

Ahmed Attaf, Minister of Foreign Affairs and the National Community Abroad, is on a working visit to New York on behalf of the President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, ahead of the elections to renew the non-permanent members of the Security Council.

At the ceremony, which was attended by a large number of ambassadors, representatives of UN member countries, and UN executives and officials, Attaf spoke of the challenges currently facing the UN and the prospects for a response, stressing the special and exceptional relationship between Algeria and the UN, in addition to Algeria’s role regional role with its Arab, African and Mediterranean dimensions.

He also addressed the goals of Algeria’s candidacy and the priorities of its mandate on the Security Council.

“Let me also convey to you all the warm and deeply felt greetings and best wishes of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who attaches great importance to the vital role of the United Nations, and who has always been a strong advocate of the UN’s efforts aiming at fulfilling the mandate of our organization in terms of promoting human rights, preserving international peace and security and advancing sustainable development,” said Attaf.

“Algeria’s candidature to serve as a non-permanent member in the UN Security Council is a natural extension of all these commitments to international cooperation for the sake of building a peaceful, stable and prosperous global order. This vision is well articulated in the motto we have chosen for this mandate, which is: “Together to uphold the principles and purposes of the UN Charter to achieve a better future for all”. It is also reflected through the priorities my country aspires to carry forward if elected,” he continued.

According to him, “these priorities evolve around the following beliefs and commitments, namely promoting the peaceful settlement of conflicts, consolidating partnerships and the role of regional organizations, moving forward the“Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda, and providing an additional momentum to the international fight against terrorism.”

“I reiterate the strong and firm commitment made by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune that, if elected, Algeria will embrace this responsibility with a deep sense of humility, dedication, and commitment and that it will contribute as a responsible and credible partner to enable global action in the face of global challenges, by presenting ideas and initiatives that would enhance the role of multilateralism in maintaining international peace and security, thus meeting the needs, the expectations and the aspirations of all mankind,” affirmed Attaf.

“Many consider that the United Nations has not risen up to their expectations, that it has not fully met their legitimate aspirations, or that it lacked the needed political will to fulfill its long-awaited promises. But in spite of all their deeply felt disappointments and frustrations, peoples around the world still turn to the UN, as the beacon of hope and the everlasting depository of humanity’s best common ambitions and aspirations,” said Algeria’s top diplomat.

Algeria – UN: “Special and privileged” relationship, a shared and unique journey

Referring to Algeria’s ties with the UN, the FM said that “the confidence of my fellow citizens in the UN and their attachment to its role take roots in the history of Algeria itself. In fact, many historical landmarks of Algeria feature and explain this special bond to the UN and this unique and emblematic journey that started back in 1956 when the issue of Algeria’s decolonization was put on the UN General Assembly’s agenda.

He also recalled “many other milestones followed this major event:  the admission of Algeria as a full Member of the UN on October the 8th, 1962, few months after gaining independence; the oath we took on that solemn occasion to spare no effort towards strengthening the authority and effectiveness of the Organization”; the role that my country played later on in the fight against colonialism in Africa and beyond; as well as its role at the vanguard of the Third Worldist movement for restructuring global affairs in the post-colonial era.”

“All these historic developments have converged in shaping the identity of my country’s foreign policy. They have also nurtured its unwavering commitment to take its fair share of the burden of achieving the goals set out in the UN Charter and to contribute resolutely to the global efforts aimed at ensuring a better future for all mankind. In the wake of this track record of which it takes legitimate pride, Algeria conducts nowadays a diplomacy for peace in its neighborhood and beyond, working in close coordination with the United Nations and regional organizations, notably the African Union and the League of Arab States,” he continued.

In this context, said Attaf, “Algeria has focused its presidency of the 31st session of the Arab Summit on promoting the inter-Arab cohesion, the Palestinian reconciliation as well as reviving the peace process in the Middle East with the stated goal of contributing to the achievement of a just and lasting solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict on the basis of the relevant UN resolutions and the provisions of the Arab peace plan of 2002.”

“Furthermore, and as a founding Member of the African Union, Algeria’s efforts were always geared towards providing the AU with the tools and means necessary to effectively discharge its mandate by ensuring African solutions to Africa’s problems and by moving forward the political, security and economic agenda of the continent,” stated the FM.

As for mediation, he affirmed that “Algeria continues to carry out its mediation to help end crises, notably in Mali where my country leads the peace and reconciliation process. It also endeavors to harness regional efforts to combat terrorism and organized transnational crime in the Sahel region through strengthening the role of the Joint Operational Staff Committee (CEMOC).”

“Algeria’s approach to peace in the Sahelian region has also fully integrated the development dimension, out of our firm belief that there could be no peace without development, nor development without peace. This belief has enabled the financing and the realization of many development projects in neighboring African countries, under the auspices of the Algerian Agency for International Cooperation for Solidarity and Development,” said the top diplomat.

“And, last but not least, being the biggest country lining the Mediterranean Sea, Algeria has always fulfilled its obligations in terms of contributing to peace and stability in this region, based on mutually beneficial cooperation, genuine understanding, and a strong commitment to the principles of good neighborliness,” concluded the FM.