Statement on behalf of the Baltic States on the Rule of Law delivered by Elīza Grisle, Second Secretary of the Permanent Mission of Latvia to the United Nations
New York, 17 October
Mr. Chair,
I have the honor to address the Sixth Committee on behalf of the 3 Baltic States Estonia, Lithuania and my own country Latvia.
We would like to thank the Secretary-General for his annual report on efforts to promote and strengthen the rule of law at the national and international level. Particularly, we welcome the timely implementation of the New Vision of the Secretary-General for the Rule of Law.
Further, we agree with the conclusion of the annual report, that the Member States efforts to strengthen the rule of law is the foundation for resolving any challenges that we are facing globally today.
As we face these new and complex threats and challenges to international peace and security, and as we witness unprecedented levels of atrocities, brutality and suffering, all Member States must remember that our collective response to threats to international peace and security must be guided by the rule of law at both the national and international level.
The Baltic States are committed to strengthen the rules based international order enshrined in the UN Charter, which is based on the respect for the sovereignty of states and the prohibition of the use and threat of force. As we reaffirm the commitment to respect the rule of law, we also witness that the principles of international law are being challenged more than ever before.
The attempts to attack sovereignty and independence of another State by using military power with the intention to redraw the State borders represents a brazen assault on the international legal order and blatant violation of the international law and the UN Charter. It is essential to remind that States have an obligation to refrain from use and threat of force and to settle disputes by peaceful means. The tribunals or the ICJ as the principal judicial organ of the United Nations should be entrusted to settle legal differences.
I thank you!