STATEMENT BY
HIS EXCELLENCY MOHAMAD HASAN
MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, MALAYSIA
OPEN DEBATE OF THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL
“LEADERSHIP FOR PEACE: UNITED IN RESPECT OF THE UN CHARTER, IN
SEARCH OF A SECURE FUTURE”
NEW YORK, 25 SEPTEMBER 2024
Thank you, President.
1.Yesterday evening, the streets of Midtown were filled, with the voices of the grieving.
2. They were grieving the killing of over 500 people in Lebanon, a heinous mass
murder which is made all the more shameful, by the fact that it happened as world
leaders gathered, under the banner of the United Nations.
3.They also mourn the fact that it has almost been one year, of the non-stop slaughter
of the people of Gaza, by the brutal Israeli regime.
4.Various instruments of international law, prescribe the rules governing our conduct.
Why, then, have we failed?
5. “Leadership for Peace: United in Respect of the UN Charter”. This is the theme
of our gathering today, but in the eyes of the world’s population, it sounds like a
punchline.
6. For over 300 days now, the Security Council seems to have forgotten the
existence of the UN Charter.
7. Had this Council fulfilled its Charter-mandated role, as the custodian of global
peace and security, we would have neither allowed nor witnessed, the murder of more
than 41,000 innocent people, many of them children, by Israel in Gaza over the past
11 months.
8. Everywhere, the same question echoes: Is the UN too broken to be fixed?
9. The answer is ‘No’, as there is indeed a way, and only one way, to fix the UN.
The veto MUST be limited.
10. This is what needs to happen. Not just to save the people of Gaza, but to save the
United Nations.
11. The world is watching as the Security Council struggles, to free itself from a
deadlock, in which one voice can overrule the majority, disregard the clearly-stated
principles of the UN Charter, and support the continued violation of international law.
12. Make no mistake, this is becoming an existential crisis for the UN, and a test of its
relevance and fitness for purpose.
13. Last week, the General Assembly adopted Resolution ES-10/24, by an
overwhelming majority. This is a success that we hope will not be tampered with, by
the power of veto in the Security Council.
14. We DEMAND that this Council support the full implementation of the Resolution.
15. Remember that the world is watching. Do not risk disillusioning us. It is the Member
States that give the United Nations its credibility, and not the other way around.
Thank you.
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