Archbishop Justin Welby has today become the first Archbishop of Canterbury to address the UN Security Council when he spoke about the work of reconciliation. Archbishop Justin was speaking as an invited Expert Briefer at the start of an open debate on “Mediation and Settlement of Disputes”. An open debate means that it is open to all UN member countries to participate – not just those who are members of the Security Council.

The invitation to Archbishop Justin was extended by the United Kingdom government, which currently holds the revolving presidency of the Security Council. The chosen debate mirrors a priority of UN Secretary General António Guterres and a personal priority of Archbishop Justin, who serves as a member of the Secretary General’s High-Level Advisory Board on Mediation.

A full report on the Archbishop of Canterbury’s speech and the debate which followed is available here.

In the meantime, you can watch Archbishop Justin’s speech: