New York, September 20 – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy lambasted the U.N. Security Council for its ineffectiveness in stopping the Russian war in his country, saying that the council should be reformed and enlarged to include more than the current 15 countries.

Zelenskyy, who appeared in person for the first time at U.N. annual meetings in New York since war broke out in his country on February 24, 2022, said, “Regardless of who you are, the current U.N. system still makes you less influential than the veto power possessed by a few and misused by one: Russia. That is to the detriment of all other U.N. members.”  

Two days after its military invasion of Ukraine, Russia vetoed a Security Council resolution that condemned and demanded an end to its invasion.

The 15-nation council is the highest authority in the U.N. system and is responsible for global peace and security issues. But it is dominated by five permanent members – the United States, Russia, France, United Kingdom and China – which have veto power over decisions. The 10 countries in the council are elected for a two-year term.

“We should recognize that the U.N. finds itself in a deadlock on the matters of aggression. Humankind no longer pins its hopes on the U.N. when it comes to the defense of the sovereign borders of nations,” Zelenskyy said, adding that the U.N. Charter can work effectively for the sake of peace and security globally.

“However, for this to happen, the years-long discussions and projects on U.N. reform must be translated into a viable process of UN reform,” he said. “And it should not be only about representation here in the Security Council.  The use of veto power, that is what requires the reform.”

He said the right to veto used by the council’s permanent members “should not serve those who are obsessed with hatred and war” and that the General Assembly – which comprises all U.N. Member States – “should be given real power to overcome the veto.”

“Ukraine considers it is unjust when billions of people do not have their permanent representation in the Security Council,” he said.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, who has condemned Russia for violating the U.N. Charter with its military aggression of Ukraine, called for renewed efforts to uphold Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.

“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in clear violation of the United Nations Charter and international law, is aggravating geopolitical tensions and divisions, threatening regional stability, increasing the nuclear threat, and creating deep fissures in our increasingly multipolar world,” he said in opening the council meeting on the theme of peace and security, and the war in Ukraine.

“All this comes at a time when cooperation and compromise for multilateral solutions are needed more than ever, to tackle challenges from the climate crisis to unprecedented levels of inequality to disruptive technologies,” he said.

“This war is already causing limitless suffering. Its continuation risks further perilous escalation,” he warned.  “There is no alternative to dialogue, diplomacy, and a just peace.”

Russia fails stop Zelenskyy from speaking to the council

At the outset of the meeting, Russia’s Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya protested the decision by the council president, Foreign Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, to allow Zelenskyy to speak before the 15 council members. Albania holds the monthly rotating presidency of the council for the month of September.

“I want to assure our Russian colleagues and everyone here that this is not a special operation by the Albanian presidency,” Rama replied Nebenzia. “There is a solution for this. If you agree, you stop the war and President Zelenskiy will not take the floor.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the council that his country will stand by Ukraine and he denounced Russia for violating the U.N. Charter, committing war crimes and crimes against humanity on “an almost daily basis,” and engaging “in reckless nuclear saber-rattling.”

“In this war, there is an aggressor and there is a victim,” Blinken said.  “One side is attacking the core principles of the U.N. Charter; the other fights to defend them.  For over a year and half, Russia has shredded the major tenets of the United Nations Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, international humanitarian law, and flouted one Security Council resolution after another.”

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