2023-09-20 19:48:23
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has once again advocated this Wednesday for a reform of the composition of the UN Security Council and has asked that Russia be stripped of its right to veto, while questioning the role of the United Nations to deal with conflicts.
“It is impossible to stop the war because all efforts are vetoed by the aggressor,” the Ukrainian president said in reference to Russia, who has also stated that he considers it “unfair” that billions of people do not have a permanent representative in the body. UN key.
This Wednesday, all eyes were on the horseshoe-shaped table in the Security Council room, which held a meeting on the war in Ukraine this Wednesday with the presence of Zelensky, who had already intervened several times by video in their debates. The Ukrainian leader appeared dressed in the characteristic military green that he wore during Vladimir Putin’s invasion and supported by the countries of the European Union and the United States.
Also raising expectations was the possible interaction between the Ukrainian president and the head of Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov, who was not in Russia’s seat while Zelensky spoke. In his place was Vasili Nebenzia, Russian ambassador to the UN body, who has protested the decision to allow the Ukrainian leader to speak. Lavrov subsequently intervened, but Zelensky was no longer present when the Russian Foreign Minister repeated Moscow’s usual battery of arguments to justify its invasion of the neighboring country.
Zelensky, who spoke in Ukrainian, has criticized that the UN is in a “dead end” when it comes to resolving conflicts. “Ukrainian soldiers are now doing with their blood what the UN Security Council should do with its votes: stop Russia and defend the principles of the UN Charter,” he said. The veto in the hands of Russia, he has pointed out, is what has led the UN “to a dead end.”
“Humanity no longer looks to the UN with hope”
During his speech, the Ukrainian president pointed out that “humanity no longer looks to the United Nations with hope regarding the defense of the sovereign borders of nations.” World leaders, he added, “are looking for new platforms and alliances that can reduce the disastrous scope of the problems, the problems that are faced here within these walls with rhetoric instead of real solutions with aspirations to reach agreements with murderers, instead of protecting lives.”
“I know that the UN is capable of more,” the Ukrainian leader continued. “I am confident that the United Nations Charter can truly work for the sake of peace and security throughout the world. However, for this to happen, the years-long debates and projects on UN reform must be translated into a viable UN reform process, and it must not just be about representation here on the Security Council. , of the use of the veto power.”
The Ukrainian leader stressed that the right to veto “should not belong to those who are obsessed with hatred and war”, but added that Russia “is not going to give up this privilege voluntarily.”
Among the measures he has proposed, the “first necessary step” would be for the UN General Assembly to have “a real opportunity to override the veto” with a two-thirds majority. The second, he continued, would be to expand the representation of nations in the Security Council. “The African Union should be here permanently. Asia deserves broader permanent representation. Germany deserves a place among the permanent members of the Security Council. Latin America should be represented here permanently. And the states of the Pacific Ocean.”
At the same time, he added, “any participation of any member State of the Security Council must be suspended at the moment when said State commits aggression against another nation.” Thirdly, he has advocated, among other things, “strong sanctions” to prevent aggression.
The Security Council, charged with maintaining world peace and security, has held dozens of meetings on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but without taking action, because its capacity has been paralyzed by Russia’s veto power, permanent member.
Zelensky is participating in person for the first time at the UN headquarters in New York since the beginning of the Russian invasion and this Tuesday he became one of the main protagonists of the General Assembly, where the leaders of the major nations meet. powers –although this year there are notable absences, such as those of the French president Emmanuel Macron or the British prime minister Rishi Sunak–.
In fact, for the first time in years, US President Joe Biden is the only leader of the five permanent members of the Security Council who has attended the General Assembly this week, since the leaders of China and China have not attended either. Russia.
In his speech this Tuesday before the assembly, the Ukrainian president called for unity to put an end to Russia’s invasion and advocated for his peace plan, which he also spoke about this Wednesday, to resolve not only the war in his country, but also other conflicts in the world.
Zelensky needs to maintain Western support, but he also needs to win over the countries of the so-called “global south” of Asia, Latin America and Africa, many of which have not followed Western positions on Vladimir Putin’s invasion. 141 of the 193 members of the assembly supported the resolution condemning the war on its first anniversary. 32 abstained, including China, India and Pakistan.
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