Press Release 235/2012
16 October 2012
Minister for Foreign Affairs Erkki Tuomioja will travel to New York on 16–18 October. Minister Tuomioja will participate in the UN General Assembly session on 18 October, when the vote for non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council for the years 2013-2014 will take place. Finland is a candidate in the election. In addition to Finland, Luxembourg and Australia are also candidates from the Western European and Others Group (WEOG). Two members will be elected from this group.
UN television will video and send a live webcast of the session at http://webtv.un.org/. Voting is expected to begin in New York at 10.00, which is 17.00 in Finland.
On 17 October Minister Tuomioja will speak at the open debate of the Security Council, which will focus on strengthening the links between the Security Council and the International Criminal Court.
During the visit Minister Tuomioja will also have discussions with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The agenda, among other topics, includes the promotion of peace mediation in the UN and the situation in Syria.
