Photo by Tomas Eidsvold on Unsplash
EU council president Charles has called for reform of the United Nations.
He said the UN Security Council must be reformed “to make it more inclusive, more legitimate, and more effective.”
In a speech to the UN he said, “Back in 1945, the world wanted peace at all costs. We accepted your right to veto in exchange for securing global peace. This was the founding pact between the most powerful nations and the rest of the world, underpinned by the UN Charter and the new multilateral institutions.”
“But today, this pact is under constant assault. Every bomb that falls in Kyiv, every hospital demolished in Gaza, every village destroyed in Sudan, each of these tragedies is one more attack on our humanity.”
“When these crimes go unpunished, they become normal, they become the way of the world, they become the law. When crimes go unpunished, the victims lose faith, we all lose faith. And a new, more brutal world is born. This is not the world I want to hand over to my children, to our children.”
The former Belgian PM went on, “When Russia invades Ukraine to wipe out Ukraine’s culture and language, this does not build Russia up, it tears Russia down in the eyes of the world.”
“When Hamas kills and kidnaps Israelis, this does not give Palestinians a state, it causes unspeakable suffering.”
“When Israel illegally occupies Palestinian soil for decades, and kills tens of thousands of innocent women and children, this does not strengthen Israel’s security, it makes Israel less safe. The latest military escalation in Lebanon is more than irresponsible, it makes the region and the world less safe.”
“And when two warring generals in Sudan take an entire nation hostage, millions go hungry, millions flee their homes, millions lose hope.”
Michel said, “The worth of a nation, the worth of a community, is not measured by its capacity for violence, nor by the strength of its armies.
“The worth of a nation is measured by its willingness to lift others up and to take the next small step to make the world more peaceful.”
“The European Union is a power for peace and security, and that will never change. In all the darkness, we must be a spark bringing more light and more hope to the world,” said Michel.
