Statement by H.E. Andrejs Pildegovics of The Republic of Latvia a the UN Security Council Meeting on “New orientation for reformed multilateralism”
14 December 2022
New York
Madam President,
I thank the briefers for their presentations as well as the Indian Presidency for convening this meeting. Latvia aligns itself with the statement delivered by the European Union.
Russia’s military aggression against an independent and sovereign neighbouring country has shaken the very foundation upon which the current international system stands. This system is a hard-won achievement and the result of two global wars, after which the world decided that a ‘might makes right’ attitude is in no one’s interest. While aggressors like Russia are attempting to throw rules-based international order into disarray, Latvia remains a strong supporter of effective multilateralism with United Nations at its core.
International community has taken concrete steps towards upholding the principles of the UN Charter and supporting the rights of Ukraine – a sovereign country under attack – to defend itself, including through GA resolutions. Strong global response to this flagrant breach of international norms sends a powerful message – multilateralism and the international rules-based order must prevail. We created it together and we must defend it together. The changing of borders by force has no place in the twenty-first century world.
Recent shocks such as Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrate that some aspects of multilateral system need urgent revisitation. When setting up the United Nations, the world leaders placed particular responsibility on five major global players for the preservation and advancement of international peace and security. Most regrettably, it is precisely one of those five countries that has chosen to utterly disregard the most basic principles of the international system it assisted to create. Current situation when one of the permanent members of the Council, namely Russia, is committing mass atrocities in it neighbouring country and gets to veto resolutions that would allow Council to take action, is an oxymoron.
People all over the globe see the failures of the Security Council to act decisively. We cannot expect faith in the UN system to last if the Security Council’s hands are tied and voice is silenced. Russia’s aggression proves that the reform of the Security Council is not just long-overdue but needed more than ever to adequately respond to present and future challenges. We fully support the French / Mexican initiative on veto restraint in cases of mass atrocities, as well as a the "Code of Conduct regarding Security Council action against genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes." The adoption of the so-called veto initiative has contributed to the efforts aimed at empowering the General Assembly and ensuring that the UN is not voiceless when the Council appears deadlocked. As a member of the ACT Group, Latvia believes that the Council would better represent the interests of the United Nations membership if we could demand more accountability, legitimacy and transparency, including regarding the working methods.
Furthermore, as co-founder of the Group of Friends of Accountability, Latvia is dedicated to strengthen accountability, fight impunity and gather support of international community to establish Special Tribunal that will bring justice to Ukraine. Currently we all are witnessing the most serious crimes of international concern taking place in Ukraine, whose unimaginable consequences horrify international community. While the opened investigation by the Prosecutor of the ICC regarding alleged atrocity crimes in Ukraine proves the Court’s commitment to ensure rules-based international order, the Court is unable to exercise jurisdiction over the crime of Russia’s aggression committed against Ukraine. To prevent impunity, this accountability gap must be closed, and we believe that an ad hoc Special Tribunal would be the most appropriate tool to complement the jurisdiction of the Court.
Madam President,
While making our strong contribution in achievement of the SGDs and Agenda 2030, we also need to address key areas such as gender equality, climate change and fight against disinformation as crucial parts of effective multilateralism. First, it requires taking a multi-stakeholder approach. Latvia recognizes the strong link between an equal participation of women and global security and remains steadfast in its support for the UN Women, Peace and Security agenda. As a current member of the UN Commission on the Status of Women and its Bureau and member-elect of the Executive Board of UN WOMEN, Latvia has been an active participant in international efforts towards promoting gender equality.
Second, climate change increasingly becomes an international peace and security issue, which multilateralism has to address to remain effective. Therefore, combatting climate change will continue to be a strategic priority in diplomacy for the coming decades. We regret that in 2021 the Security Council with two votes against failed to adopt a draft resolution that would have been a historic achievement, integrating climate‑related security risk as a central component of UN conflict‑prevention strategies.
Third, information space increasingly becomes part of global peace and security thinking. Disinformation has become a global phenomenon, used to undermine a scientific approach to information, but also to question the validity of the current international order. Building resilience to disinformation by supporting independent and pluralistic media, as well as fostering media literacy becomes increasingly important in international peace and security efforts.
We strongly believe that effective multilateralism is more than just about interaction among states and stakeholders. While dialogue has value in itself, in our view, multilateralism is first and foremost about collective effort in good faith to achieve concrete goals. It is possible only when actors are being credible and their words match their deeds. Therefore, to strengthen multilateralism we have to call out cases when states are using appealing slogans and initiatives at the UN as a smokescreen to cover their malign actions outside this building.
Madam President,
The task ahead of us might seem daunting at times but respecting UN Charter means that we step up to defend it during the times of instability. We must reject any attempts to erase sovereign States from the map or use threats to bully international community. Our discussion today is an opportunity for us to look deeper into our common interests stemming from our common appreciation of multilateral system. In this regard, Latvia is going to run for the Security Council for the 2026-2027 term. It is our collective task and duty to strengthen the effectiveness of our multilateral system so it is ready to address various security challenges.
I thank you.