- In a historic first, US First Lady Melania Trump is scheduled to chair a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, focusing on “Children, Technology, and Education in Conflict.”
- The appearance comes just days after a massive US-Israeli military campaign killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, plunging the Middle East into heightened conflict.
- While the meeting was announced before the outbreak of war with Iran, analysts suggest the US is using the presidency to maintain diplomatic engagement despite tensions over budget contributions and alternative initiatives like the “Board of Peace.”
United States First Lady Melania Trump is slated to chair a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, an appearance that was announced last week before the United States launched its war against Iran.
Eko Hot Blog reports that her office said the former model would “make history at the United Nations, taking the gavel as the United States assumes the Security Council Presidency to emphasize education’s role in advancing tolerance and world peace.”
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Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, confirmed Melania’s event would mark the first time a first lady, or first gentleman has presided over a Security Council meeting.
The United States holds the Council’s rotating presidency for the month of March.
President Donald Trump’s third wife has dabbled in diplomacy before, notably working to try to secure the release of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.
However, this historic appearance comes amid intense scrutiny of the United States’ role within the United Nations.
Political and financial tensions have mounted between Washington and the UN in recent years.
Many observers say the US president intends to bypass the Security Council with his so-called “Board of Peace”, which held its inaugural session in Washington last month, with several countries pledging funds and personnel to rebuild Gaza.
At that meeting, Donald Trump repeated his stance that the UN has failed in its mission.
Since returning to the White House last year, he has withdrawn support from several major UN agencies, such as the World Health Organisation.
“Diplomats will be aware of the contradictions in the US promoting a meeting about children, education and peace mere months after it boycotted UN offices working on similar topics,” noted International Crisis Group analyst Daniel Forti. “Most Council members will want to ‘play nice’ when Melania is in the room, as few would risk damaging their bilateral relations with Washington over a UN meeting with little consequence.”
The world body has recently launched a reform project, and just a few days ago, Washington paid $160 million into the organisation’s regular budget, after paying nothing in 2025.
But the UN still faces more than $4 billion in debts for its budget and peacekeeping operation needs, and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned of imminent financial collapse.
Meanwhile, the conflict in the Middle East has escalated drastically.
A US-Israeli military campaign began Saturday with a bombing that killed Iran’s supreme leader in Tehran. Iran has retaliated with missile and drone attacks on countries across the Middle East.
