UN Security Council Open Debate: Maintenance of International Peace and Security – The United Nations Organization - Looking into the future
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Dear Excellencies,
Today, we commemorate the creation of the United Nations eight decades ago that became the cornerstone of a world order based on international law and human dignity, not force, a source of legitimacy and universal standards, and an irreplaceable forum for convening, cooperation understanding, and solidarity, where all countries in the world have a voice.
Like the UN, the European Union was also born from devastation of war. It is at its very heart a peace project, where a continent once divided by brutal war chose cooperation over confrontation, human rights over human repression, and economic solidarity over economic inequality.
The rules-based international order enshrined in the UN Charter embodies a universal set of principles that create conditions for peace, prosperity, human rights and dignity, and development for all.
We too easily forget the success of multilateralism and of the UN. It has brought an end to civil wars, successfully held peace in countries across the world, and overseen elections and a transition to democracy in many states.
And yet today, the very core of those principles is under attack. There are efforts to replace the imperative of the rule of law with the force of the gun. Genuine economic solidarity is increasingly replaced by naked self-interest. And human rights are portrayed by some as somehow not integral to the dignity of all peoples, as though they are not at the very heart of the UN Charter.
In this respect, it is regrettable that the convener of this debate on the future of the UN, Russia, a permanent member of this Council, has launched an unjustified and illegal full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine, a clear violation of the UN Charter that continues unabated and needs to be condemned unequivocally. Its repercussions for European and global security in a changing environment constitute an existential challenge for the European Union. The EU remains steadfast in its commitment to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine, grounded in the principles of the UN Charter and international law, and welcomes all efforts towards achieving such peace.
And the same goes for other major conflicts today, where the EU calls for the respect of international law, including international humanitarian law, and human rights in every context where they are at risk or actively violated. We do so in Gaza, in Sudan, in the DRC, in Myanmar, in Haiti, in Ukraine and elsewhere.
As the President of the European Council Antonio Costa confirmed to the General Assembly last month, the EU knows where we stand. We are a project of peace.
Colleagues, the UN can play a key role in preventing conflicts, fostering dialogue, and acting as the voice of the most vulnerable. We tasked it to do so in the Pact for the Future. But we must now allow it to do this work.
We have a collective responsibility to shape an organisation that is fit for purpose and to work equally towards the fulfilment of its three pillars: global peace and security, sustainable development, and human rights.
The EU is fully committed to, and fully engaged in, their full implementation by, among other things, upholding the EU-UN Strategic Partnership on Peace and Security, being the biggest and most steadfast development partner for other countries in the world, and promoting human rights for all and in all circumstances, including within Europe’s own borders.
As a principled international actor and the world’s largest collective contributor to the UN System, the EU and its Member States also support the Secretary General’s UN80 reform initiative, striving for a more responsive, effective and resilient United Nations. Our shared goal is to identify systemic improvements and secure genuine, lasting reforms that strengthen the Organization’s foundations and its capacity to serve the peoples of this world.
A reformed, efficient and accountable Security Council should be at the heart of the peace and security architecture. In line with our commitment to the implementation of the Pact for the Future, the EU supports a comprehensive reform of the UN Security Council towards making it more effective, inclusive, transparent, democratic, and accountable and better reflecting today’s realities by strengthening the voice of underrepresented regions.
The EU is committed to continue cooperating with all nations respecting the principles of the UN Charter for a more just and fair international order. If ever there was a time to join forces for the greater good and against the erosion of multilateralism, this is that time.
Thank you.