Volkswacht Bodensee - Melania Trump to preside over UN Security Council meeting

"First Lady Melania Trump is set to 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," her office said in a statement Wednesday.

The meeting at 3:00 pm (2000 GMT) on Monday will focus on education, technology, peace and security and marks the first time a sitting US first lady presides over the Security Council, the statement added.

Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary-general, said Thursday that the visit represents "a sign of the importance that the United States feels towards the Security Council and the subject" of education.

"I can confirm that, according to our records, this will be the first time a First Lady, or first gentleman, for that matter, has ever presided over a Security Council meeting," he added, noting that the spouses of heads of state have previously participated on behalf of non-members of the Council.

During his State of the Union address Tuesday, President Donald Trump boasted: "No one cares more about protecting America's youth than our wonderful first lady."

Melania's visit comes as the president spearheads his "Board of Peace" initiative, which some critics have said is a way to circumvent the UN Security Council.

Since returning to the White House last year, Trump has withdrawn support from several major UN agencies, such as the World Health Organization.

Nevertheless, the United States recently paid $160 million to the cash-strapped UN's general budget, of which it owes roughly $2 billion in contributions, in addition to $2 billion in outstanding payments for the UN peacekeeping budget.

M.Betschart--VB