As we reflect on the UN’s 80th year, there is much to commemorate.
No international organisation in history has done more to lift people out of poverty, eliminate disease, respond to natural disasters, uphold human rights, and prevent conflict. The United Nations has maintained ceasefires, secured peace deals through its good offices, and helped support States on everything from state building to demining to conducting elections. It has facilitated the adoption of nearly thirty disarmament treaties and has provided humanitarian assistance to more than 100 million people each year, from Palestine to Sudan to Myanmar.
To this day, the UN remains the primary convening forum for the world, the stage on which we defend international law and seek – as the Charter dictates – “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, the equal rights of men and women and of nations, and to respect the obligations arising from other sources of international law.”
The UN’s founding purposes and principles are as essential today as they were 80 years ago, and we must collectively uphold them. We must also seize the opportunity of the Secretary-General’s reform initiative to refocus the organisation and bolster the UN’s impact. UN80 must result in a stronger, more effective UN, better able to support governments in tackling challenges we face today – including complex conflicts, development, and the climate and nature crises.
The UK also believes that the Security Council should be reformed to make it more representative of the world today. We support reforms to both permanent and non-permanent membership. This includes permament membership for Africa, plus permament seats for Germany, Japan, India and Brazil.
Since the very beginning, the UK has been committed to supporting the UN and its Charter. The first-ever meeting of the Security Council was convened in London in 1946. It is because of this very commitment that we must highlight the hypocrisy of the Russian Federation positioning itself as a champion of the Charter. It does this while continuing to disrespect the principles of the sovereign equality of States and flagrantly contravening the prohibition on the use of force against the territorial integrity of another State. This makes a mockery of the very platform we have been given in the Security Council to uphold international law and to maintain peace and security.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the actions of its shadow fleet, and its malign activity targeting a wide range of States all raise serious concerns about its adherence to the very Charter it seeks to celebrate today.
To be unequivocally clear, all States have an obligation to act in full compliance with the UN Charter. It is only through a collective commitment and adherence to the Charter that we will learn from the horrors of the past, to prevent and resolve conflicts now and for the next 80 years and beyond.
