In win for Israel at United Nations, diplomat appointed to key committee post
Sarah Weiss Maudi is 1st Israeli woman to serve as the vice chair of Western Europe and Others Group, which weighs legal questions for General Assembly
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A legal adviser for Israel’s mission to the United Nations was appointed as vice chairwoman to a key UN committee on Tuesday.
Sarah Weiss Maudi will represent the Western Europe and Others Group (WEOG) of countries on the Sixth Committee — the primary forum for the consideration of legal questions in the General Assembly.
She will be the first Israeli woman to serve in this position.
Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, welcomed Weiss Maudi’s appointment, calling it, “an important achievement for Israel that will lead to the strengthening of our influence at the UN, and that has a connection to the peace agreements that we recently signed.”
1/2 ברכות לשרה וייס מעודי, שנבחרה היום לסגנית יו״ר ועדת המשפט של האו"ם, לאחר מאמץ דיפלומטי אדיר שהובלתי עם המשלחת שלנו. שרה תהיה לאישה הישראלית הראשונה שמכהנת בתפקיד. הישג חשוב לישראל שיוביל להגברת ההשפעה שלנו באו״ם ושיש לו קשר גם להסכמי השלום שחתמנו לאחרונה> pic.twitter.com/SBa6YVFnBp
— Ambassador Gilad Erdan גלעד ארדן (@giladerdan1) October 6, 2020
“There is still a long way to go for balance and fairness at the UN, but when I heard that the Iranian and Syrian representatives were angered by Sarah’s appointment… I understand that it was a success,” Erdan said.
Israel was not a member of any regional group until the late US ambassador Richard Holbrooke in 2000 in successfully pushed the Western European and Others regional group to invite Israel to be a temporary member. The membership was later extended indefinitely.
AFP contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.