Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday compared the Russian government to terrorist groups as he urged the UN to commit to reforms that would punish Moscow for apparent atrocities committed by Russian troops in Ukraine.
In a shocking speech to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), Zelensky offered gruesome details about the Bucha massacre – a suburb near Kyiv where hundreds of civilians were killed.
“Citizens were crushed by tanks … their limbs were cut off, their necks were cut off, women were raped and killed … their tongues came out,” he said.
The Ukrainian president said that Russia’s actions in Ukraine “are no different from other terrorists” such as ISIS, but added that “here it is done by a member of the United Nations Security Council.”
“They are waging wars and deliberately leading them in such a way as to kill as many ordinary citizens and cities as possible,” Zelensky said.
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Zelensky criticized the current framework of the UN and the UN Security Council, which, he said, failed to help prevent war in Ukraine.
“Where is the security that the Security Council must guarantee? There is no security,” he said. “So where is the peace that the UN was created to guarantee? It is obvious that the basic institution of the world, which must ensure the compulsion of any attackers for peace, simply can not work effectively.”
He called for “immediate reform of the UN system.”
As one of the victors of World War II, Russia is among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and has the right to veto it. To this are added the USA, the United Kingdom, France and China. The other 10 members of the Council are elected by the General Assembly for a two-year term.
In late February, Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution condemning its invasion of Ukraine and calling for the immediate expulsion of troops. The resolutions of the SAIE are generally considered legally binding, in contrast to the resolutions of the General Assembly.
Russia’s use of the veto “undermines the whole architecture of global security and allows them to go unpunished,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky essentially suggested that the UNSC lose credibility if it continued to allow Russia to participate in the Council and exercise such power.
The Ukrainian leader urged the Council to remove Russia “as an aggressor and as a source of war, so it can not prevent decisions about its own aggression, its own war.”
If there is “no alternative and no option” to ousting Russia, Zelensky said, then the body should be “disbanded” completely.
“We must do everything in our power to pass on to the next generation an effective UN with the ability to respond proactively to security challenges,” Zelenski said, advocating for a “fair representation of all parts of the world in the Security Council.” . “
Zelensky said there could be no other “exceptions” or “privileges” for some countries, calling for all to be put on an equal footing.
“The power of peace must prevail. The power of justice and the power of security. As humanity has always dreamed,” he said.
As a permanent member of the UNSC, there are open questions about how Russia could be legally removed from the body. Asked in early March whether the United States wanted to see Russia as a permanent member, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said: “We do not see this happening … They have a permanent seat on the Security Council. Of course, that is why “It is so disturbing that Russia, given its special responsibility to uphold the Charter of the United Nations, is actively overturning the Charter and abusing its position.”
Instead, the Biden government accepted Russia’s suspension from the UN Human Rights Council, which would require two-thirds of the General Assembly to vote in favor.
The Russian government has refuted widespread allegations of war crimes in connection with the conduct of its forces in Ukraine. Moscow has denied any involvement in the killings in Bukha, while promoting conspiracy theories that the images of dead civilians in the Kiev suburbs were fabricated.
