LITHUANIAN OFFICER BEGINS SERVICE IN THE PERMANENT MISSION OF LITHUANIA TO THE UNITED NATIONS
On April 1 Lithuanian officer Colonel Darius Petryla will come into office as Military Representative of Lithuania at the Permanent Mission of Lithuania to the United Nations, New York.
COL D. Petryla will represent Lithuania at the committees and work groups of the United Nations where security and defence policy, arms control and disarmament issues are addressed. The officer will also coordinate the participation of Lithuania’s civilian and military personnel in the UN peacekeeping operations and political missions.
Military Representative will also advise the Permanent Mission of Lithuania to the UN in the initiation of draft documents and debates on security issues at the UN Security Council and help the Permanent Mission of Lithuania to the UN to fulfil its functions related to Lithuania’s membership in the Security Council of the United Nations.
As Lithuania has become a nonpermanent member of the UN Security Council, an additional need has emerged for representing Lithuania and presenting Lithuania’s position in the Security Council’s sessions and coordination events where only its members are allowed to participate.
Before assuming the present position COL D. Petryla headed the Planning Board of the Joint Staff of the Lithuanian Armed Forces responsible for operational planning and coordination.
In October 2013 Lithuania became the first Baltic country to be elected a nonpermanent member of the United Nations Security Council. The membership will span from the beginning of 2014 till the end of 2015. Also, during this period Lithuania will chair the UN Security Council twice. The first chairmanship term has taken place in February while the second rotation will fall in 2015.
As a nonpermanent member of the UN Security Council, Lithuania is committed to ensuring that the Security Council is able to respond to the threats to international peace alongside the permanent members of the Council.
The United Nations Security Council comprises 15 states: 5 permanent members (U.S.A., UK, France, Russia and China) and 10 nonpermanent members elected for a two-year period.
As a country contributing to the missions and operations of the United Nations Lithuania has posted one military observer to the UN operation in Afghanistan, and one Lithuanian officer took part in the United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) in 2012.
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