Latvia sets AI focus for first-ever UN Security Council presidency

Latvia's UN envoy announced Monday that the country will assume the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council in November for the first time in its history, placing artificial intelligence and emerging technologies at the center of the 15-member body's agenda.

Technological focus

The signature event of Riga's month-long term is scheduled for Nov. 24 as a high-level ministerial open debate titled "Conflict resolution in an era of rapid technological change." "We believe that the issue of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, and their impact on peace and security, is a topic that will stay on the council's agenda," Pavluta-Deslandes told reporters at UN headquarters, noting that the council does not intend to establish global AI regulatory frameworks — a task that remains with the UN General Assembly. Representatives from the technology sector will brief members, while a newly established Informal Expert Group on emerging threats, created jointly with Greece, will convene its inaugural session during the month.

Türkiye's secretary-general bid

Pavluta-Deslandes confirmed that the council received and circulated an official letter from Türkiye formally submitting Ambassador Feridun Sinirlioglu as a candidate for UN secretary-general. "Indeed, there has been an official letter from Türkiye on the nomination, addressed to the president of the security council and the president of the general assembly," she said, adding: "It has been duly circulated, so the candidature is official." The ambassador noted that indicative straw polls will proceed during November with just two months remaining before the five-year term begins on Jan. 1, voicing support for selecting a female secretary-general after eight decades of male leadership while stressing that competence remains essential.

Regional security challenges

The presidency agenda includes anticipated meetings on Russia-Ukraine amid strikes targeting critical energy infrastructure ahead of winter and attacks on Black Sea commercial grain transport that threaten international food security. On the Middle East, the council is scheduled to mark the one-year milestone of Resolution 2803 on Nov. 17 before debating Palestine on Nov. 30, while mid-November consultations will address Lebanon and Resolution 1701 to review the UNIFIL transition ahead of the mission's year-end expiration. The council will also hold judicial elections for the International Court of Justice on Nov. 3, invite civil society briefers to sessions on Syria and South Sudan, and consider mandate renewals for peacekeeping missions in Abyei and the Central African Republic.