Ukraine, Georgia call for limiting veto power in UN Security Council

Ukraine and Georgia sent a joint letter to co-chairs of the intergovernmental talks on reforming the UN Security Council at the current session of the General Assembly, calling for limiting the use of veto power if one of the permanent members is a party to the conflict.

"As some member states have repeatedly stated during the intergovernmental negotiations [on the UN Security Council reform], the veto power should be limited when a permanent member is a party to the conflict or situation under consideration and cannot participate in an unbiased vote due to conflict of interest. Our common principled position is that the issue of limiting the use of veto power in these situations should be considered in the context of intergovernmental negotiations and be an integral part of the UN Security Council reform," reads the Ukrainian-Georgian letter available to Ukrinform.

As Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations Volodymyr Yelchenko said in an exclusive commentary to an Ukrinform correspondent, the restriction of the veto power is a key element of Ukraine's position on the reform of the United Nations and the UN Security Council in particular.

"One does not have to tell Ukraine about the implications of the abuse of veto power by a UN Security Council permanent member. Let's recall the draft resolutions on the territorial integrity of Ukraine or the establishment of an international tribunal to investigate into MH17 crash, which were blocked by Russia. There are other recent notorious cases: Salisbury, Syria. The application of the veto power by a party concerned paralyzes the work of the world’s key security platform, its ability to respond promptly to threats posed to international peace and security," the Ukrainian diplomat said.

The talks about any UN reform are not serious if a veto power is not reconsidered, Yelchenko added.

"We are pleased that this position is shared by other states. A joint appeal with Georgia will have additional political weight in further negotiations," the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations summed up.

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