Melania Trump to chair UN Security Council meeting

First Lady Melania Trump will chair the United Nations Security Council meeting on Monday as the United States assumes the monthly rotating presidency, the White House said.

Melania Trump will emphasize education as a way to promote tolerance and world peace at the meeting, which will be the first time an American first lady will chair the 15-member council, the first lady’s office said Wednesday.

US President Donald Trump has been a vocal critic of the United Nations since his first term in the White House, saying the 198-member world organization is ineffective and in need of reforms.

Trump struck a more conciliatory tone at the first meeting of the Peace Board last week; The initiative was intended to resolve conflicts globally but many world leaders had failed to embrace it due to concerns that it was designed to replace the United Nations, he said.

“The peace board will virtually oversee the United Nations and make sure it’s functioning properly,” Trump said on February 19. he said.

“We will strengthen the United Nations. We will make sure that their facilities are good. … We will help them financially and ensure that the United Nations survives.”