Zagreb, 22. May 2009.
On the occasion of the 17th anniversary of Croatia’s admission to the United Nations and the first anniversary of its activity, the Croatian United Nations Association organised on May 21 a simulation of the work of the UN Security Council on the topic of fight against piracy.
The event, which gathered representatives of permanent and non-permanent Security Council members – Croatia, France, Russia, Turkey, the UK and the USA, has been opened by Joško Klisović, president of the Croatian UNA, and H.E. Yuri Afanasiev, head of the UNDP Mission in Croatia, who pointed out the important role played by the UN in solving global threats to peace and security, in spite of its complex decision making process.
In a two-hour long simulation of the Security Council, participants presented their views about the ways the international community and individual states can answer the threat to peace and security posed by intense pirats’ activities, especially in the Gulf of Aden and off the East coast of Somalia. The participants agreed that a long-term solution to the problem of piracy at sea should be based on a comprehensive strategy that would include political, legal, humanitarian and military measures. It is also necessary to additionally strengthen the coordination of efforts of individual states and international organisations such as the UN, EU and NATO.
The simulation is the first event of the cycle “UN in Croatia, Croatia in the UN”, whose aim is to inform the Croatian public about the work of the UN and UN-related topics, and to present Croatia’s involvement in the UN.
The Association thanks the following persons and organisations for supporting this event: Mr. Antun Dubravko Jelčić, Fellow of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Matrix Croatica, Hemingway bar and Bo-Mah.