Turkey is a candidate to one of the two non-permanent seats allocated to the Western European States and Others Group (WEOG) at the United Nations Security Council for the term 2015-2016. The elections for this term will be held during the 69th session of the UN General Assembly in 2014.

Turkey’s pursuit of membership in the Security Council is based on its unwavering commitment to the goals and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.

Turkey believes that it will provide significant added value to global peace and security in the current era of critical and rapid change in international affairs. The developments in the Middle East and the Mediterranean basin have further increased Turkey’s responsibilities regarding international peace, stability and security.

As a founding member of the United Nations, Turkey plays an active and constructive role in a wide spectrum of issues on the UN agenda.

Turkey has been actively contributing to the efforts for the preservation of peace and stability at the regional and international levels. Turkey now stands out as an important troop and police contributing country. Over the years, Turkey’s contributions to international peacekeeping missions extended beyond its immediate vicinity like the Balkans, the Caucasus and the Middle East, to more distant geographies in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Turkey also launched a process on peacebuilding during its tenure in the Security Council during 2009-2010, complemented by “retreats” of the Council in Istanbul in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Turkey is spearheading jointly with Finland the “Mediation for Peace” initiative, which has been instrumental in generating renewed interest in and commitment to preventive diplomacy.

In addition to her active involvement in UN peacekeeping missions and related activities of NATO, the European Union and the OSCE, Turkey takes part in many fora fostering international cooperation, and plays a key stabilizing role in its region through various initiatives.

Turkey currently represents the 17th largest economy in the world and the 6th in Europe. It is one of the countries least affected by the global economic crisis, thanks to its robust economic and financial structure.

Turkey is fully committed to the Millennium Development Goals and is actively engaged in the deliberations for the post-2015 development agenda. Turkey also actively contributes to the international efforts to help eradicate poverty. As a dynamic member of the G-20 and an emerging donor country, Turkey strives to strengthen and diversify its humanitarian and technical assistance programs. Turkey’s overall assistance has doubled over the last three years, reaching almost 2.5 billion USD in 2011. This amount includes the aid provided by the Turkish Red Crescent and other NGOs, and direct investments by the Turkish private sector. Turkish Official Development Assistance now amounts to 0.17 % of GNP.

With the ambitious and wide-ranging economic and technical cooperation package announced during the 4th United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries in May 2011, Turkey pledged to allocate 200 million USD annually to the LDCs for technical cooperation projects and programs, as well as scholarships.

Turkey furthermore makes every effort to contribute to social development in the field of human rights, children’s issues, and the promotion of the status of women. Turkey is committed to strongly cooperating with other Member States in these areas.

Turkey is one of the converging points of the East-West energy transportation routes. By virtue of its geo-strategic location, Turkey plays yet again an essential role in securing and diversifying global energy flow with a multitude of oil and natural gas pipelines crossing its territory.

Turkey is also a leading country in the fight against terrorism, organized crime, trafficking in drugs and corruption. Turkey is co-chairing with the US the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum which aims at strengthening the counter-terrorism capabilities of the international community in coordination and partnership with the UN.

Turkey is fast becoming a center for international organizations, including the United Nations. Turkey is now hosting the Eastern Europe and Central Asia Regional Office of the UNFPA and the International Center for Private Sector in Development of the UNDP in Istanbul, as well as the Sub-Regional Office for Central Asia of FAO and the Center for Regional Cooperation in Ankara. The Secretariats of regional organizations such as the Black Sea Economic Cooperation and the Turkish Cooperation Council are also located in Turkey.

Turkey is a hub for international cooperation also through the hosting of major international conferences and events. Such occasions in recent years included the UN-HABITAT Summit, the OSCE Summit, the World Water Forum, the CICA Summit, the ECO Summit, the Alliance of Civilizations Forum, the 4th UN Conference on the LDCs and the ceremonies to mark the end of Turkey’s Presidency at the Council of Europe, just to name a few, as well as numerous other summit-level meetings of regional and/or thematic character.

Turkey stands out not only as a country that has achieved a harmonious blend of the rich and diverse cultural heritage of its lands, but also as one of the two co-sponsors of the UN Alliance of Civilizations , which has quickly become the leading international initiative in the area of cross-cultural dialogue and tolerance.

If successfully elected to the Security Council, Turkey believes that it will be able to inject to the Security Council’s deliberations the perspective of a country mindful of various approaches to the current complex issues, and to effectively contribute to the Council’s work.

Further information is available at the following website:

http://www.turkey4unsc.org