Restoring UN Character, Conventions, Conversation; Reaffirming Unilateralism—Russian FM
Sergey Lavrov
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Founded in 1945, the United Nations today is the world’s largest
intergovernmental organization.
One hundred and ninety-three (193) Member States make up the UN whose mission
and work “are guided by the purposes and principles contained in its founding
Charter.”
UN Membership “is open to all peace-loving states that accept the
obligations contained in the present Charter; and, in the judgment of the
Organization, are able and willing to carry out these obligations.” State membership in the UN is decided by UN General Assembly on the recommendation
of the UN Security Council.
Excerpts, minor edit from
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s September 28th UNGA speech
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reach of, threat to United Nations founding purpose and principles
“Collective mechanisms of responding to common security challenges are
faltering.
Diplomacy, negotiation and compromise are being replaced with dictates and unilateral extraterritorial sanctions enacted without the consent of the UN Security Council. Such measures that already affect dozens of countries are not only illegal but also ineffective, as demonstrated by the more than half-century US embargo of Cuba that is denounced by the entire international community.”
The United Nations, built on lessons of the Second World War “are all
obliged to think about the future and not repeating the mistakes of the past….”
but in “the modern international legal system…” we “are witnessing the rise of
militant revisionism.”
Fundamentals such as the “basic principles of the Middle East settlement process, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the Iranian nuclear programme, commitments under the World Trade Organization, (and) the multilateral climate agreement… are under attack.”
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mpunity, Convenient Antagonism
“Our Western colleagues seek to replace the rule of law in
international affairs” with no international law: “double standards” or “‘rules-based
order’” wherein rules are manufactured to fit the demands of “political
expediency.”
“Unjustified accusations of interference in the domestic affairs of particular countries are made while simultaneously engaging in an open campaign to undermine and topple democratically elected governments.”
Western colleagues “seek to draw certain countries into military alliances built to suit their own (Western) needs against the will of the people of those countries—while threatening other states with punishment for exercising freedom of choice in their partners and allies.”
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rotracted Conflict, Provocation
“Aggressive attacks on international institutions are accompanied by
attempts to ‘privatise’ their secretarial structures and grant them the rights
of intergovernmental bodies so that they can be manipulated.…
“The shrinking space for constructive international cooperation, the escalation of confrontation, the rise in general unpredictability, and the significant increase in the risk of spontaneous conflicts – all have an impact on the activities of this world organization” (the United Nations).
The international community pays “a high price for the selfish
ambitions of a narrow group of countries.”
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estern Opposition to nations United
As nations see nations strive to preserve their sovereignty and to
choose development models consistent with their ethnic, cultural and religious
identity, Western states put the screws on, go to any lengths — “anything goes,
up to and including political blackmail, economic pressure and brute force” — “to
retain their self-proclaimed status as ‘world leaders’ and to slow down the irreversible
move toward multipolarity that is objectively taking place.”
West’s “highly likely” preface to war on Libya, Iraq, Yugoslavia
“…We have already been through this.
“We remember well how many times false pretexts were used to justify interventions and wars” such as “in Yugoslavia in 1999, Iraq in 2003 and Libya in 2011.”
Eastern Europe’s Adriatic, Balkans, Black Sea regions
- Ukraine: One of the main factors of the protracted domestic conflict is seen in the growth of radical nationalism and neo-Nazism in the Ukraine “where criminals who fought under SS banners are glorified as heroes.” And “the only way to end it is consistent and faithful implementation of the Minsk Package of Measures that was unanimously approved by the UN Security Council.”
- Kosovo—where international military presence under UN Security Council mandate morphs into a US base with Kosovo armed forces forming; and the Belgrade and Pristina agreements mediated by the European Union “disregarded”—“Russia calls on the sides to engage in dialogue in accordance with UNSC Resolution 1244 and offers its “support (of) any solution which is acceptable to Serbia.”
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estern Opposition to eliminating Weapons and matériel
of Mass destruction - Privatizing pretexts,
implements, execution of endless war
“Lack of progress in ratifying the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and in establishing a WMD-(weapons of mass destruction) free zone in the Middle East has been compounded by the unilateral US withdrawal from the JCPOA” [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action agreement on the nuclear program of Iran reached in Vienna July 14, 2015, between Iran, the P5+1 (5 UNSC permanent members China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States—plus Germany), and the European Union] “in violation of Resolution 2231”— “despite the fact that Iran is fully in compliance.”
As the West “attempts to turn its Technical Secretariat into a tool for
punishing ‘undesirable’ governments,”
the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons “is being pushed in an increasingly negative direction,” thus threatening “to undermine the independent professional status of (the OPCW) and the universal nature of the CWC [Chemicals Weapons Convention], as well as the exclusive prerogative of the UN Security Council.”
Middle East: Syrians, Palestinians
“The failed attempt to use extremists to change the regime (Syrian
government) from the outside nearly led to the country’s collapse and the
emergence of a terrorist caliphate in its place…. The Syrian National Dialogue
Congress in Sochi, initiated by Russia, Iran and Turkey last January, created
the conditions for a political settlement in line with UN Security Council
Resolution 2254”; and an “intra-Syrian Constitutional Committee is being
established in Geneva on precisely this basis.” On the agenda is the rebuilding
of “ruined infrastructure to enable millions of refugees to return home as soon
as possible.” International efforts and UN
activities’ priorities should be to assist in “resolving these challenges for
the benefit of all Syrians, without any double standards.”
And “…for all the challenges posed by Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya …
the protracted Palestinian problem” cannot be ignored. Its “fair resolution… is critical to improving the situation in the entire Middle East.” The consolidation of international efforts in the interests of resuming talks on the basis of UN resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative “is more in demand than ever before. …
“Mutually acceptable agreements should ensure the peaceful and safe co-existence of the two states—Israel and Palestine.”
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oreign Minister Lavrov Affirms Diplomacy
“We are convinced that any problems and concerns in international affairs should be addressed through substantive dialogue.
“If there are questions or criticisms, what is needed is to sit down and talk, produce facts, listen to opposing arguments. Seek to find a balance of interests.”
Sources
United Nations
http://www.un.org/en/member-states/index.html
http://www.un.org/en/sections/about-un/overview/index.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_states_of_the_United_Nations
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation “Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks at the 73rd session of the UN General
Assembly,” New York, September 28, 2018 - 1809-28-09-2018 - en-GB1
ru-RU1
http://www.mid.ru/en/press_service/minister_speeches/-/asset_publisher/7OvQR5KJWVmR/content/id/3359296
http://www.mid.ru/en/main_en
The Chemicals Weapons Convention is an international treaty that bans
the use of chemical weapons in war and also prohibits all development,
production, acquisition, stockpiling, or transfer of such weapons. The CWC was
adopted by the United Nations Conference on Disarmament on September 3, 1992,
and the treaty was opened to signature by all states on January 13, 1993. The
CWC entered into force on April 29, 1997. As of 2011, the only countries that
had neither signed nor acceded to the CWC were Angola, Egypt, North Korea,
Somalia, and Syria. Formally: Convention on the Prohibition of the
Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their
Destruction (Britannica).
Note strategic areas (source Britannica)
Adriatic Sea: Arm of the Mediterranean Sea, lying between the Italian
and Balkan peninsulas
Balkans or Balkan Peninsula: easternmost of Europe’s three great
southern peninsulas (interpreted differently but usually comprising Slovenia,
Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, KOSOVO, Montenegro, Macedonia,
Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, and Moldova).
Borders of Balkans: Italy (northwest), Austria and Hungary (north), UKRAINE
(north and northeast), and Greece and Turkey (south) ● seas: Adriatic Sea (west),
Ionian Sea (southwest), and Black Sea (east).
Ukraine
In Eastern Europe, Ukraine is bordered by Belarus (north), Russia (east),
Sea of Azov and the Black Sea (south), Moldova and Romania (southwest), and
Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland (west). “In the far southeast, Ukraine is
separated from Russia by the Kerch Strait, which connects the Sea of Azov to
the Black Sea.”
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