(Corrects number of UN member states to 193 in paragraph 3)
WASHINGTON, Feb 26 (Reuters) – First lady Melania Trump will chair a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Monday as the U.S. takes over the monthly rotating presidency, the White House said.
Melania Trump will emphasize education as a way to advance tolerance and world peace at the meeting, which will be the first time a sitting American first lady presides over the 15-member council, the first lady’s office said in a statement Wednesday.
U.S. President Donald Trump has been a vocal critic of the United Nations since his first White House term, saying the 193-member world body was ineffective and needed reforms.
Trump struck a more conciliatory tone last week at the first meeting of his Board of Peace, an initiative he said aims to resolve conflicts globally but one that many world leaders have failed to embrace amid concerns it was designed to replace the United Nations.
“The board of peace is going to almost be looking over the United Nations and making sure it runs properly,” Trump said on Feb. 19. “We’re going to strengthen up the United Nations. We’re going to make sure its facilities are good. … We’re going to help them money-wise, and we’re going to make sure the United Nations is viable.”
(Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Trevor Hunnicutt; editing by Michelle Nichols and Chizu Nomiyama)
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