UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Dominican Republic, which holds the Security Council presidency for the month of January, has put climate change high on the agenda with a ministerial debate.
The high-level open debate, which also involves non-Security Council members, is scheduled for Jan. 25. It will be presided over by President Danilo Medina of the Caribbean country.
"We do hope to, from within the Security Council, provide a modest contribution to fostering better understanding of new risks to peace and security -- these are risks which differ from the traditional risks we face: they are more complex and more global in nature. This issue (of climate change) is of particular relevance to our country, and to the Caribbean and Central America in general. It is also the case for many Pacific islands," Jose Singer, the Dominican Republic's special envoy to the United Nations, told reporters.
The very existence of many Pacific islands is threatened by climate change, he noted. "We'll have that debate on climate change because it is so crucial to us in the region."
The Dominican Republic, together with Belgium, Germany, Indonesia and South Africa, began their two-year term as non-permanent members of the Security Council on Jan. 1, 2019. They replaced Bolivia, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands and Sweden.