New York: Europe and the Arabs

The United Nations Secretary-General said that the global multilateral system is under greater pressure than at any time since the creation of the United Nations, which requires swift action to use the United Nations Charter and existing tools to achieve greater security and prosperity for all people.

According to the UN bulletin, a copy of which we received via e-mail, the UN Security Council held an open discussion session - at the ministerial level - on the effectiveness of multilateralism by defending the principles of the UN Charter.

The session was chaired by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council this month.

The session coincides with the International Day for Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace.

"We are facing unprecedented and interconnected crises," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said during his address to the council.

He added, "Tensions between the major powers have reached a historic level, as have the risks of conflict erupting - whether through misadventure or miscalculation. The time has come to deepen cooperation and strengthen multilateral institutions, to find common solutions to common challenges."

In doing so, the Secretary-General called on Member States to comply with their obligations, use existing tools to resolve disputes peacefully, and close gaps in global governance to deliver on the promises of the Charter.

He said that the members of the Security Council - particularly the permanent members: China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States - had a responsibility to "make multilateralism work, rather than contributing to its dismantling".

"We must cooperate; we must adapt multilateral institutions and strengthen trust where it is most needed. Urgent global challenges demand bold and swift action," he added.

Collective responses to common crises
The Secretary-General said that effective multilateral responses are urgently needed to prevent and resolve conflict, manage economic instability, salvage the Sustainable Development Goals, and address challenges to global norms against the use and possession of nuclear weapons.

Guterres added that this includes "the immediate interest in addressing the Russian invasion of Ukraine - which is a violation of the United Nations Charter and international law - and the disruption in the global economy resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, and the ongoing conflicts in Myanmar, the Sahel region, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and others."

At the same time, the world is witnessing a deepening climate crisis, rising inequalities, a growing threat of terrorism, global attitudes against human rights and gender equality, and the unregulated development of dangerous technologies.
"The need for better and faster work"
"All these global challenges can only be resolved through respect for international law, adherence to global commitments, and the adoption of appropriate multilateral governance frameworks," said the UN Secretary-General.

"We need to do better, go further, and act faster. This must start with recommitting states to their obligations under the UN Charter, prioritizing human rights, dignity and preventing conflict and crisis," he added.

"beating heart"
The Secretary-General stated that the United Nations was established to confront crises, noting that the organization has overcome intractable conflicts and deep divisions throughout its history, stressing the need for "we find a way to move forward and act now - as we did before - to stop the slide towards chaos and conflict."

Pointing to past achievements — from preventing a third world war, to helping 80 countries decolonize and crafting tools to promote diplomacy and development — the Secretary-General said multilateral solutions to global problems have been "tried, tested and proven effective".

He stressed that "multilateral cooperation is the beating heart of the United Nations, the reason for its existence and the vision that guides it."

Although competition between States is inevitable, this should not preclude cooperation where common interests and the common good are at stake, as the Secretary-General puts it.
Russia calls for confronting the principle of "might makes right"
At the beginning of the meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov drew attention to the concept note for the meeting, which states that some stakeholders "are making attempts to preserve the unipolar world order, by imposing the principle of 'might makes right' and trying to replace the universal rules of international law with ' rules-based system.

Speaking in his national capacity, Mr. Lavrov said, "We have reached a dangerous threshold. Double standards must be abandoned. Strengthening Western bases on the international scene stifles multilateralism. The key to success is concerted efforts."

He said that true multilateralism requires major changes in the United Nations, including reform of the Security Council to more accurately represent the global landscape.

Lavrov accused the United States of violating the United Nations Charter - including "its responsibility for the atomic bombing of Japan in 1945, and its intervention in Iraq, which unleashed terrorism across the region and beyond," as he put it.

He urged the United States - as the host country of the United Nations - to comply with its obligations and to issue entry visas to the country immediately to allow participation in United Nations meetings.

He touched on the situation in Ukraine, saying that international relations are dominated by a balance of interests or what he described as the dominance of the United States and its support for the "Kiev regime".

In this context, he urged the UN Secretary-General to ensure staff neutrality
United States: "The world needs an effective United Nations"
In turn, US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas Greenfield said, "The Russian invasion affected Ukraine today, but another country could be exposed to it later," stressing that such a Russian invasion is among the reasons for drafting the Charter in 

In the first place, and that Moscow's attempt to redraw international borders violates the principles of the United Nations Charter.

“This little blue book spells out our goals and our principles,” said the US ambassador, holding a copy of the UN Charter in her hand. However, the conflict in Ukraine runs counter to agreed principles, as the world prepares for what she describes as the next atrocities and war crimes.

“The world needs an effective United Nations,” she went on, adding that despite the imperfections of the international system, the Charter's principles have helped prevent nuclear proliferation and atrocities, while lifting more than a billion people out of poverty.

China: One World System
To Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jun he stated that "the world has only one system", for which the UN Charter is the "cornerstone".

He said that protecting the principles of the United Nations Charter requires actions that match words consistently and comprehensively, adding that the pace of international relations must reflect equality and enhance the effectiveness of pluralism, noting that developing countries must play their role in this regard.

To do so, he called for actions to improve global governance, reform the international financial system, and remove unilateral sanctions affecting humanitarian conditions in many countries.