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Guyana underscores importance of respect for international law at UN Security Council
Kaieteur News – Guyana‘s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hugh Todd on Wednesday underscored the importance of respect for international law at the UN 9732nd Meeting of the United Nations Security Council.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hugh Todd
The United Nations Security Council on the “Maintenance of International Peace and Security was held under the theme: Leadership for Peace – United in respect of the UN Charter, in search of a secure future”
Todd in his address to committee spoke of the importance of upholding the principles of peace and security established under the UN Charter. He noted that “the United Nations was created nearly 80 years ago with the solid determination to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, to reaffirm faith in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women of nations large and small.”
Minister Todd told the council that “Guyana firmly believes that the UN is as relevant today as it was in 1945 and that its purposes and principles must continue to be the standard that drives our actions. In fact, Excellency, there is no alternative to the United Nations, and I shudder to think what our world would be like without the UN.”
The Foreign Affairs Minister therefore, called on reject the prevailing culture of cynicism and addresses the shortcomings. “We must demonstrate by our collective actions that the UN remains the moral compass of the world.”We must therefore make it consequential for those Member States who violate established global norms and standards, including international law.”
“We as Member States of the United Nations must not and cannot accept double standards in the application of the legal norms to which we have all agreed. We must make it a priority to promote the consistent application of the UN Charter and international law. “
Todd stressed that the world is replete with painful examples of the consequences of violating the provisions of the Charter. Citing Gaza, Sudan, and Ukraine, he noted that the three such cases that are particularly concerning owing to the depth of human suffering and destruction taking place. “Though there is political will on the part of most Council members to make the right decisions to bring these wars to an end, and to create conditions for the protection of civilians, the Council is stymied by one or the other veto. Let us recall that one of the central pillars on which the UN was built is the dignity and worth of the human person and this must be the driving force for action, “the Minister said.
He explained that war strips away a person’s dignity as we have seen in the case of Palestinians struggling for decades to exercise the right to self-determination, or in the case of Ukrainians to defend their sovereignty and territorial integrity – a principle which is fundamental to the international legal order. “As for the Sudanese people, they too remain trapped, victimized, and brutalised in a war of political ambitions fueled by external interests. We must use all tools at our disposal to protect civilians wherever they are,” he said. As such, Todd asserted that the maintenance of international peace and security is a collective endeavour that also involves regional organisations.
“It is therefore important for the Security Council to continue working closely with regional organizations such as the African Union (AU), the European Union (EU), and my own Caribbean Community (CARICOM), inter alia, to jointly develop responses to threats to peace and security in the respective regions,” he said.
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