Today, Prime Minister Jean Chretien of Canada told the Council -- meeting at head-of-state level for the first time since 1992 -- that it could not back away from the debate.
Of 145 countries in the index, only four (Iceland, Finland, Norway, and Nicaragua) are more than halfway toward equality at the parliamentary, ministerial, and head-of-state levels of government.
The CD already provides this platform, and with a reformed membership that meets at the head of state level every year it could expand its efforts.
When Secretary Kerry started the Our Ocean movement back in 2014, the number of international representatives at the Foreign Minister or Head of State level who attended the conference was in the single digits.
Crucial will be Ban Ki-moon's Heads of State level Climate Summit at the UN in September.
However, at Heads of State or Government level, apart from the relationships with our Member States, we have, in the Treaty of Lisbon, the President of the Council, who represents Europe in external policy and common security matters, and the Commission which, pursuant to Article 17, represents Europe in every other aspect of external relations.
Chief justices, heads of jurisdiction, attorneys general, chief prosecutors, and other high-ranking representatives of the judicial, legal and auditing professions have been present in Rio over the last few days with the object of feeding their own recommendations into the work of the Rio+20 conference on sustainable development now taking place at heads of state and heads of government level.
He frequently conducts negotiations and mediates discussions at the head of state, head of government, and cabinet levels, and across countries' military and intelligence leadership.
The Iraqis and Turks have established a Strategic Commission that meets periodically at the ministerial level, paving the way for head of state visits marking significant economic cooperation.
This is the first time the General Assembly has called for a summit at the Heads of State and Government level… [and] is a historic opportunity to come up with a blueprint for a better international response".
