The United Nations Security Council on May 28 held a second day of hearings on upholding and reaffirming the principles of the UN Charter. There was a full list of speakers who, especially those from the Global South, appreciated China’s role in chairing the meeting, as well as its promotion of a multilateral approach to problem-solving and engaging a broader base of nations. The representative from Sierra Leone said that multilateralism has been the “cornerstone of stability,” but it is under attack, and unilateralism has become a threat to all. Ethiopia’s representative said that some have complained about the United Nations, but nobody has presented a better alternative to peacefully resolve disputes. The Belarus representative said that he supports the UN Charter, but not the “Rules-Based Order,” which he said is used to promote “narrow special interests.”
The representative from the Maldives said that the UN Charter is their “first line of defense,” and that the use of force cannot become normalized. The speaker from the Fiji Islands said that the UN Charter gives his country an equal voice, not because of its economic might or military reach, but because of this sense of equality. Ireland’s speaker addressed the need to defend the dignity of each individual and each nation.
