July 19, 2024
Thank you, Mr. President.
Let me begin with the news coming out of Russia this morning. Evan Gershkovich was sentenced to 16 years. He has committed no crime. He is being punished because he is a journalist, and he is an American. Simple as that.
Today, as I sit here, I’m thinking about Evan. And I’m thinking about his family, who I have had the honor of getting to know over the past harrowing year. And I am committed to continuing to work to get their son, and their brother, home.
Colleagues, the United States strongly supports the work of regional organizations, and welcomes cooperation between these entities and the United Nations to advance the principles enshrined in the UN Charter.
We take pride in our robust partnerships with regional organizations around the world, including in Central Asia.
Partnerships that support countries’ independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity; their freedom to pursue political, economic, and security interests on their own terms, without external coercion.
The C5+1 diplomatic platform reflects our steadfast commitment to advancing our shared goals, and combatting global challenges.
To be clear: this support for Central Asian countries’ integrity does not negate our belief that they should be able to engage with larger regional neighbors.
The United States believes that every country has the sovereign right to choose its security relationships and to engage in collective self-defense, as reflected in the UN Charter.
For decades, these cooperative partnerships have been essential to maintaining global peace and stability.
Indeed, our own security alliance with NATO remains a cornerstone of our national security and a vital platform for global cooperation.
It embodies our collective defense commitments, and our shared values of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.
Of course, for Russia, NATO is merely a scapegoat, as you heard today.
A place to lay the blame for its own egregious violations of international law; A convenient rationale for threatening the very existence of a sovereign state and a fellow member of the United Nations; And some sort of justification for the notion that Russia has the right to impose its will by force on Ukraine, and dictate sovereign Ukraine’s security decisions.
This is, of course, preposterous. In fact, it would be insulting if it wasn’t so laughably incorrect.
Colleagues, we have the responsibility to hold ourselves to a higher standard. And that includes calling out those regional organizations who adopt policies and positions inconsistent with the principles and purposes of the UN Charter.
That includes some of the regional organizations mentioned today.
Let’s call these policies what they are: transparent attempts to lend false legitimacy to Russia’s brutal war of aggression, and deflect blame for Russia’s atrocities against the people of Ukraine.
When these organizations, in this context, parrot slogans like “indivisible security,” or promote the “legitimate security concerns” of the same large powers that loom over them, it is akin to saying that said powers can impose their will over their neighbors.
The United Nations was designed to prevent this kind of thing from happening.
To ensure that no nation could take over another by force; to help governments answer to the will of their people, not the whims of their larger neighbors.
On that note, the United States takes real issue with regional organizations cynically promoting concepts such as “dialogue among civilizations” or “civilizational diversity” in an attempt to justify restrictions on the exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms, including those enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
I think about the SCO Member States that have prosecuted individuals for speaking out about the importance of regional political autonomy. That have forcibly repatriated asylum seekers fleeing repression in other SCO Member States.
And that, under the guise of combating “terrorism, separatism and extremism” have repressed peaceful dissenters and members of ethnic and religious minority groups, including through discriminatory police action and unjust detentions and prosecutions.
These actions are unconscionable. And they are completely antithetical to the principles of justice and human rights we have all committed to uphold.
To that end, we welcome the UN’s continued engagement with regional and civil society organizations working to advance the principles and purposes of the Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Their contributions are indispensable to our collective efforts to build a more just, prosperous, and peaceful world.
Colleagues, when large powers use regional multilateral organizations to try to legitimize their unlawful and destabilizing actions, it speaks volumes, not only about those large powers, but those organizations, and their true character.
Ultimately, the UN is in the business of peace and security.
“Cooperation,” therefore, is not a blank check for malign, dangerous, and abusive behavior. It should be reserved for those regional organizations upholding Member States’ obligations under international law and the UN Charter.
And so, we must continue to call out those individuals and collectives acting in violation of the Charter we all agreed to uphold. And we must continue to act in a manner consistent with international law. A manner worthy of true, meaningful cooperation.
Thank you, Mr. President.