76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly
Statement on behalf of the Baltic States at UN General Assembly on the adoption of the resolution „Standing mandate for General Assembly debate when a veto is cast in the Security Council“
Delivered by H.E. Rytis Paulauskas, Permanent Representative of Lithuania
April 27, New York
Mister President,
I have the honor to speak on behalf of the three Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia, and my own country Lithuania.
We applaud the adoption of the General Assembly resolution entitled “Standing mandate for General Assembly debate when a veto is cast in the Security Council”. We are proud to have presented the draft resolution together with a cross-regional group of states and to have provided a consistent support throughout the negotiation and preparation process, which was skillfully steered by Liechtenstein.
We grateful to all the UN Member States for their support to the resolution to render the use of veto more transparent. We are inspired by this strong support of the membership to the initiative.
This momentous adoption reaffirms our strong commitment to the Charter of the United Nations and provides an opportunity to anew our dedication to it. The Baltic States welcome a strong determination of the international community to reflect on the significance of the Charter to the international peace and security and its fundamental importance to an effectively functioning multilateralism. Today’s adoption is a strong result of a consistently increasing advocacy for a more resilient role of the General Assembly in matters of international peace and security, as mandated by the Charter. We believe it is necessary to make the UN more capable and restore its reputation. This resolution is a very meaningful step in that direction.
We also note that this adoption took place at a particularly timely juncture, as the discussion within the international community regained new traction following the large-scale, unprovoked, unlawful and unjustified Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Aside of shedding new light an Russia’s continuous misuse of its perch on the Security Council to misrepresent international norms, sow discord and spread disinformation in the pursuit of national interests, it is also a stark reminder of the daring implications of the reduced ability of the Council to take effective action against threats to international peace and security.
This again points to a pressing need to reaffirm our commitment to the Charter and strengthen the role of the General Assembly. It is a joint responsibility of us, the UN Member States, to act in earnest, not only to talk – and to abide by the principles of the Charter, not merely profess our support to them. It calls for time, motivation, and commitment, but it is a fundamental effort.
As the principal international organization with the aim of maintaining peace and security, the United Nations has a unique responsibility to re-evaluate and reinvent itself in order to seek productive ways to deliver on the promise of peace.
Thank you.
