Overview
- The United States takes the rotating Security Council presidency for March, with a March 2 session in New York titled "Children, Technology, and Education in Conflict."
- The United Nations confirmed it will be the first time a sitting first lady or first gentleman presides over a Council meeting, which is typically chaired by a country's UN ambassador or a senior official.
- UN political chief Rosemary DiCarlo will brief the Council on behalf of the secretary-general during the session.
- U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz praised the decision as fitting given Melania Trump’s child-focused work, while former diplomats and commentators criticized the break with diplomatic norms.
- The event comes during tense U.S.-UN relations marked by agency withdrawals, funding cuts and large arrears, with a recent $160 million U.S. payment against nearly $4 billion owed and debate over the administration’s new 'Board of Peace.'