EU Statement – UN Special Committee on the Charter and Strengthening the Role of the Organization

– CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY –

Thank you, Chair,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

The Candidate Countries North Macedonia*, Montenegro*,Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina*, and the EFTA country Liechtenstein, member of the European Economic Area, as well as, Monaco, align themselves with this statement.

We wish you, Chair, and the other members of the Bureau a successful handling of this session, and we thank Director Pronto and the staff of the UN Secretariat for their continued support.

Chair,

We gather in this Committee at a time when the international legal order is under a level of strain unprecedented since the end of the Second World War and the establishment of the United Nations. We are facing an increasing number and variety of threats to international peace and security. These include grave violations of the UN Charter, such as acts of aggression and violations of territorial integrity, as well as egregious breaches of international human rights law and international humanitarian law. 

In many countries, we are also witnessing serious setbacks for human rights, democracy and the rule of law. These include the brutal repression of demonstrators expressing their legitimate aspirations for a better life, freedom and dignity; the targeting of political opposition figures, human rights defenders, journalists and media; threats to the independence of the judiciary; and attempts to undermine or blur the separation of powers. These developments are not, and should not be considered, merely internal affairs. They strike at the core of the rule of law at the international level and often lead to further instability at regional and global levels. 

It is therefore our common responsibility to stand up for the UN Charter and for the fundamental rules and principles of international law, which are increasingly being violated. We must act to prevent such developments and remain open to dialogue and cooperation in order to find adequate solutions. 

As the magnitude of the challenges facing the UN system and international peace and security continues to grow, the European Union and its Member States reiterate their strong support for effective multilateralism and for the international legal order, with the United Nations at its core. We firmly oppose efforts to undermine or erode this framework. 

It is in this spirit that we have actively participated in the work of this Committee over the years. 

With regard to the agenda item on the maintenance of international peace and security, we look forward to the annual briefing on UN sanctions. This briefing is an important opportunity to reflect on this essential component of the Security Council’s toolbox for maintaining international peace and security and for responding to breaches of international law, including serious human rights violations.

The EU and its Member States emphasize once again that sanctions must be implemented in full compliance with international law, including international humanitarian law, international human rights law and international refugee law.

Furthermore, sanctions must respect the rights of listed persons, including due process rights. In this context, we congratulate Ms. Vera Nkwate Ngassa on her appointment as Ombudsperson to the ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee and we wish her and her team all the best for their important work, which we fully support. We also stress the urgent need to appoint, as soon as possible, the Focal Point for de-listing, in order to enable the full implementation of Resolution 2744 (2024). Maintaining constant scrutiny of due process safeguards, and further improving procedures where necessary, remains a priority for us – particularly considering the European Court of Justice’s thorough scrutiny of EU legal acts transposing UN sanctions into the EU legal order.

Finally, for sanctions to be effective, they must be properly implemented and enforced by all UN Member States. This is an area that would benefit from more in-depth discussion, particularly to enhance understanding of UN sanctions to ensure their full implementation and address their increasing circumvention. In this context, it is regrettable that a few Member States have contested the legitimacy of the UN sanctions on Iran, as this risks undermining their full implementation following their reintroduction by the Security Council on 27 September 2025.

In the broader context of international peace and security, it is also important to examine the consequences of situations in which the Security Council is unable to act in response to serious violations of the UN Charter, including cases where a permanent member of the Security Council may be involved.

Chair,

As regards pending proposals and the identification of new subjects to be added to the agenda of the Charter Committee, we note the continued lack of progress, after several years, if not decades, of discussions on topics, which are duplicative of efforts undertaken elsewhere within the Organization, or remain deeply divisive. The parallel discussions on the revitalization of the work of the General Assembly and on the UN80 Initiative make it all the more necessary to reflect on how we can rationalize and meaningfully revitalize the work of the Charter Committee, ensuring the best possible use of limited time and resources.

The ongoing processes aimed at elaborating and concluding legally binding instruments on the prevention and punishment of crimes against humanity, and on the protection of persons in the event of disasters, demonstrate our collective capacity for constructive engagement on issues of universal relevance. That same spirit of cooperation could help revitalize the work of the Charter Committee if we focus on topics that genuinely foster constructive dialogue, and can lead to consensus and, ultimately, to concrete results. The European Union and its Member States remain committed to engaging constructively to that end. 

Chair,

In conclusion, we thank the Secretary-General for his report on the Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs and the Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council in English and French. We commend the Secretariat’s continued efforts, including the expanded use of technology to present the practice of all UN bodies in a more accessible manner, notably through the development of new tools, such as the dashboard on Security Council voting trends. We are grateful to all contributors to the trust fund, including EU Member States. We also wish to express our appreciation to the Office of Legal Affairs, especially the Codification Division. 

Thank you.
 

*North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.