Canada, the UN Security Council and PR

Currently there are two temporary seats up for grabs (in the "Western Europe and Others" region) on the United Nations Security Council. Canada, Germany, and Portugal are the three countries in the running for the two positions. All three countries have been pulling out all the stops in order to grab one of these influential spots, among the eight other non-permanent members. The United States, the UK, France, China, and Russia are the permanent members of the Security Council.

What does this have to do with PR, you might ask. The answer is everything. Canada, along with its competitors is spreading the public relations on thickly this week in New York. Stephen Harper addressed the UN General Assembly yesterday, while cabinet ministers Lawrence Cannon, Bev Oda, Jim Prentice, and Peter Kent are also in New York communicating the positives of Canada having a seat at the Security Council.

Germany is pretty much a lock to take one of the seats. They are the third largest contributor to the UN and provide vast quantities of economic aid around the world. So it comes down to Canada and Portugal for the remaining seat.

This is where public relations comes into play and more specifically the principles of persuasion. The principle of familiarity and trust will play a vital role in who gets the seat. Both Canada and Portugal are working this method of communication.

For Canada, Harper and his ministers are pushing the wide international role that Canada plays. Key to this is its membership in virtually every important international political organization, from NATO to APEC to the Commonwealth to La Francophonie. Canada's role in the reconstruction of Haiti is also being played up. The main goal of this communications strategy is to influence voting nations that Canada is a well known and trusted player on the international stage. It's asking these nations to remember what Canada has done in the past and the good it has brought to the world.

Portugal is using the same communications principle, but on a smaller scale. It has the support of Portuguese speaking countries like Brazil and other former colonies in Africa and Asia. This is again an example of the principle of familiarity and trust.

The vote on the two seats will occur on October 12, when all 192 member states of the UN vote. In the end, good PR and more specifically the principle of familiarity and trust will likely be the deciding factor.