UN Security Council adopts its first unanimous statement since the start of the war
This is the first demonstration of unity by the Security Council since the beginning of the war. On Friday, the Council approved a unanimous statement providing “strong support” to the secretary general of the organization “in search of a peaceful solution” at war. Written by Norway and Mexico, the declaration does not, however, go so far as to expressly support mediation by Antonio Guterres as provided for in a first version of the text negotiated since Thursday.
Very short, the text adopted specifies that “the Security Council expresses its deep concern regarding the maintenance of peace and security in Ukraine”. The fifteen members of the Board also recall “that all Member States have undertaken, under the Charter of the United Nations, the obligation to settle their international disputes by peaceful means”.
“Today, for the first time, the Security Council spoke with one voice for peace in Ukraine”welcomed the UN chief. “The world must unite to silence the guns and uphold the values of the UN Charter” et “I will continue to spare no effort to save lives, reduce suffering and find the path to peace”added Antonio Guterres.
For the Mexican ambassador to the UN, Juan Ramon de la Fuente, this “very first initial step (…) points in the right direction”. “It is encouraging to see that diplomacy is taking its place in the Council”he said, also pointing out, with regard to peace efforts, that “quiet diplomacy is sometimes much more effective than a lot of declarations”.
“The needs and sufferings of the Ukrainian people require maximum effort from the United Nations, both from the Council and from the Secretary-General and from the United Nations system as such”, added his Norwegian counterpart, Mona Juul. Since mid-April, the UN has been trying to create a “humanitarian contact group” which would bring together around the same table Ukraine, Russia and the United Nations. To no avail so far.