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This is not about Russia, this is about Multilateralism – Global Affairs

Ambassador Christian Wenaweser has been Liechtenstein’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York since 2002.
  • Idea by Christian Wenaweser
  • Joint press service

ONE: The veto initiative is a simple idea, but we think it makes a lot of sense politically. It simply states that every time a veto is given in the Security Council, there is automatically a meeting convened by the General Assembly to discuss the proposed veto in the Security Council. So it’s an automatic task. It is not subject to any further intervention or decision. It is a mandate given to whoever is the president of the General Assembly at that time must be convened within the said timeframe. It’s open-ended regarding the outcome. It’s completely unregulated. The only thing required is the meeting and the discussions.

Can you be more specific about the motivation for this initiative? Why is this happening now?

We do it because we believe in multilateralism strongly. Accordingly, we are increasingly concerned about the inability of the Security Council to take effective action against threats to international peace and security due to the very deep political divisions between permanent members of the Council.

We are concerned about the negative impact this will have on the effectiveness of the United Nations. So if you look at our statements over the last five years or so, we have consistently supported the strong role of the General Assembly in international peace and security matters as regulated. of the Charter of the United Nations. This initiative is a meaningful step in that direction.

The reason why we do it now is twofold. First of all, we were close to launching this initiative in March 2020 when we were impacted by the shutdown. This is not something we can do online. So we decided that we needed support from close donors to push this forward. The closure is over while the pandemic hasn’t, so that’s one of the reasons why we’re doing it now.

Another reason is that we feel that the broader membership of the United Nations today is particularly gratifying with this initiative. There is a strong sense now that the United Nations needs to reinvent itself and find different ways of doing business.

Yes and no. If you look at the numbers, it’s clear who has vetoed the largest number of resolutions in recent years. That is the Russian Federation – mainly concerned with Syria. But our initiative is not aimed at Russia or against Russia. It is simply about veto power and institutional balance. It is about the role we believe the General Assembly should play in this organization.

What are the chances of this resolution being passed? There is some speculation that it will be discussed this week and there will be a vote in the coming days.

Voting will not take place this week. This week, we will have an official introduction to the members. We will then look to get a date in the General Assembly shortly after. We are getting strong positive feedback for this. Therefore, we are very confident that our text will be approved.

Are you concerned that this initiative – if passed – could be used as a political tool to get other countries with veto power in the way? Or do the states placed in the General Assembly because of the veto then go on to use the debate in the General Assembly to draw more attention to their views than they would just get in? Council?

This is not about putting anyone in position. Our resolution provides that the delegations that have vetoed in the Security Council are given first place on the speaker list because we want to know why they vetoed and why they believe this to be the case. that is beneficial to the organization, why they consider it consistent with the principles of the Charter. It’s an invitation for them and, as is the case with any invitation, you can accept it or not.

It’s not about putting anyone in position, it’s about accountability. It’s about being given a say in what we think are issues in which we have ownership. The Charter of the United Nations makes clear that the Security Council carries out its work on behalf of its members.

Are you surprised your initiative is getting support from Washington at this point?

The obvious thing to say is that you should ask the US ambassador. But I’m happy to share my thoughts. The US made their reasons very clear. We think what they are saying is very important because it comes from a permanent member of the Security Council who has had a mixed history with the United Nations over the years.

This US administration has given a major step to the Security Council in bringing forward the United Nations procedure for Peace regarding Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine. I think they just realized that in order for the UN to remain relevant, the General Assembly has to come to the center. For us, it is an important and hopeful sign. For us, this is a vote on multilateralism. This is not just a vote on a procedural mechanism that gives the General Assembly more power.

Also, if we understand you correctly, it is not a vote on Russia.

Not for us. Some observers clearly think we are doing this because of what is happening in Ukraine. Measure is not true. But of course, what is happening in Ukraine and the failure of the Security Council to respond clearly shows that what we are doing is the right thing to do. But in fact, we’ve been doing this for the past two and a half years.

Unfortunately, sometimes UN initiatives come with some momentum but then unfortunately nothing really comes out after they’ve been adopted. The Mexico-France initiative to voluntarily limit the use of veto power in the Council after the Assembly was blocked in 2013, for example. Are you concerned that this could happen again?

I’m not sure I would agree with that assessment. After all, the Franco-Mexican initiative never passed. It is just something that is placed on the table.

This will be a resolution of the General Assembly. This will be an intergovernmental mandate that the General Assembly creates on its own. It will stay there forever and it will be done automatically. And it will make a difference.

This interview was conducted by Michael Bröning and Volker Lehmann.

The source: International Politics and Society published by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung’s European and Global Policy Unit, Hiroshimastrasse 28, D-10785 Berlin.

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