YouSaid · the spoken record

Wong

lines on the record

4

first

2023-09-20

most recent

2023-09-20

sittings or episodes

1

sources

un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

1. “As United Nations Member States, we all have a responsibility to call out Russia’s egregious behaviour. The rest of the Council’s permanent members must be utterly unyielding in their pressure on Russia to end this war. Russia’s abuse of its veto is mocking us all. It underlines the need for urgent reform of the Council, including constraints on the use of the veto. It has never been more necessary for the Council to uphold the principle of the sovereign equality of all members of these United Nations. That is the first principle of the Charter and the very rationale for the United Nations itself.”

   2023-09-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9421Resumption1 (2023) · source

2. “Russia has inflicted tragic loss of life and catastrophic damage across Ukraine. It has placed Ukraine’s very existence under threat. It has torn apart families, abducting thousands of children in an effort to re-educate them to disavow their loved ones and hate their homeland. This conflict has seen great cruelty, but removing a child from family to such ends is nothing short of abhorrent. Australia stands steadfast with the people of Ukraine, who continue to show extraordinary courage, and we join all those calling for the return of Ukraine’s abducted children. We contribute defence, economic and emergency humanitarian assistance — some 890 million Australian dollars thus far — and support Ukraine’s efforts to hold Russia to account. Our objective, like so many others, is to help empower Ukraine to end this war on its own terms.”

   2023-09-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9421Resumption1 (2023) · source

3. “Having that power demands of the P5 an obligation to prevent conflict, to not act as an aggressor and to lead by example in upholding the rules. The veto was never intended to empower a country to abuse the Charter of the United Nations and to be above the law. But it has been more than 570 days since Russia launched its illegal and immoral full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a flagrant violation of the Charter by a permanent member of the Council and an attack on every Member State and everyone at this table. Russia’s actions are driving the global crisis in food and energy security. Its termination of the Black Sea Grain Initiative and its attacks on Ukrainian food infrastructure have kept food from those who need it most. But while the cost of Russia’s war is being paid by the world’s most vulnerable people, Ukraine suffers the most.”

   2023-09-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9421Resumption1 (2023) · source

4. “I would like to thank you, Mr. President, for convening this important high-level open debate. I acknowledge all of our colleagues here today, in particular the representative of Ukraine. The Security Council has a singular responsibility to the people of the world for the maintenance of international peace and security. The establishment of the Council was a clear statement of intent by the nations of the world that the sovereignty of all Member States must be respected, that larger countries should not be able to determine the fate of smaller countries and that disagreement should not spiral into war. When the Council was established, its members took on a serious obligation, especially its five permanent members (P5), who were granted a power to veto the will of the Chamber.”

   2023-09-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9421Resumption1 (2023) · source