Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico’s foreign affairs minister, represented his country at the 77th United Nations General Assembly on Thursday with a brief speech in which he called for reforms in the United Nations Security Council after the Council failed to prevent the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“The Security Council has not been able to fulfill the mandate conferred on it by the Charter of the United Nations, as it failed to prevent the war, nor has taken the measures to put an end to the armed aggression, and even less, has managed to route any diplomatic process to seek out a solution through the path of dialogue and negotiation,” the Minister stated while asserting that his country will continue to advocate for reforms of the U.N. Security Council that allow more seats with longer-term durations.
Mexico, which is currently a non-permanent member of the Security Council, denounced the U.N. organ as being paralyzed by the veto power of its permanent members, which allows any of them to block any resolution or decision regardless of the majority opinion within the Council. Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council, used its veto power in February to block a U.N. Security Council resolution that demanded an immediate end of their invasion of Ukraine.
China, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France are the other four permanent members who enjoy veto powers on the legal body.
“The paralysis of the Security Council is the result of the abuse of the so-called right of veto by some of its permanent members,” Ebrard said, adding that Mexico, alongside France, has continued to promote that permanent members of the Security Council abstain themselves from using the veto power.
Ebrard made mention of a Russia-Ukraine peace proposal by far-left Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The proposal, presented to the United Nations prior to the Mexican representative’s speech, “involves establishing a Caucus of Heads of State and Government” tasked with seeking out a peaceful solution to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine through dialogue and negotiation.
The proposed caucus, Ebrard suggested, should include U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Pope Francis.
The Mexican foreign affairs minister continued his speech by calling for nuclear disarmament.
“Mexico regrets the lack of political will — particularly on the part of the States possessing nuclear weapons — to reach agreements that allow achieving said purpose,” he said.
Ebrard concluded his speech by reaffirming that the United Nations should continue to be a tool of the international community for the peaceful resolution of controversies. “We cannot close the door to political dialogue and diplomatic negotiation. The current international tensions are not going to be resolved by force,” he stated.
The Mexican representative concluded his speech by calling all U.N. member states to “work together to achieve the peace that we all yearn for.”
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
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