Ukraine War: Zelenskyy Tells UN Security Council Russians Must Face War Crimes Trial

Apr 5, 2022 • Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told the UN Security Council that Russians who are implicated in suspected war crimes in Ukraine must face justice.

Speaking via video link, he said Russia must be punished as “an example” to other countries who broke international law.

He also told delegates that Moscow was trying to turn Ukraine into a nation of “silent slaves”

Russia Vetoes West’s Syria Resolution at UN Security Council

Moscow has vetoed a US-backed resolution condemning the Khan Shaykun incident on April 4 as a chemical attack while demanding that Syria open up its military bases to inspections.

Netanyahu: We Cannot And Will Not Accept Security Council Resolution On Settlement Building

Israel has suspended its multimillion dollar contribution to a number of United Nations bodies and is reevaluating its relationship with the organization, after the UN Security Council passed a resolution on Israeli settlement construction.

‘Turkey Gets Impunity for Whatever It Does’: Turkish Troops Deployed in N. Iraq

The Arab League has condemned deployment of Turkish troops in northern Iraq, saying it amounts to “an intervention.” Iraq has demanded that Ankara withdraws its troops, saying it will go to the UN Security Council if they remain.

Israeli Envoy 'Spoils the Party' at UN Following Iran Deal Vote

ARUTZ SHEVA: Israel's ambassador to the UN, Ron Prosor, slams international community's 'poor track record' after it empowers Iranian terror regime.

Israel's ambassador to the UN Ron Prosor took on the United Nations Security Council on Monday, just after it unanimously approved a draft resolution implementing the Iranian nuclear deal with the West.


"You have awarded a great prize to the most dangerous country in the world," Prosor began. "I hate to be the one to spoil the party, but someone has to say the emperor has no clothes."

"Today is a very sad day," he continued, "not only for the State of Israel, but for the entire world. Even at this moment, the international community refuses to see the tragedy."

Without checking first to see that Iran is already taking steps to comply with the agreement, passing the draft resolution is "like allowing a criminal to sit on the jury to decide his own fate," Prosor said.

"It's not only that you have not cured the symptoms, you have strengthened the source of the problem," he added. "You have given the source of the problem - Iran - money, stability at home, and the time to carry out its destructive ideology." » | Nitsan Keidar | Monday, July 20, 2015

Saudi Arabia Rejects UN Seat over Body's Handling of Syria Crisis

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Saudi Arabia is rejecting its seat on the UN Security Council and says the 15-member body is incapable of resolving world conflicts.

The move came just hours after the kingdom was elected as one of the Council's 10 non[-]permanent members.

In a statement carried on Friday by the official Saudi Press Agency, the Saudi Foreign Ministry says the Council has failed in its duties toward Syria.

It says this alleged failure enabled Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime to perpetrate the killings of its people, including with chemical weapons, without facing any deterrents or punishment. » | Josie Ensor | Friday, October 18, 2013

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Inside Story: UN Security Council: A Relic of the Past?

As the UNSC fails to reach an agreement on how to respond to the conflict in Syria, we examine the prospects for reform.

Putin: Only UNSC Can Sanction Military Action Against Syrian Government

President Vladimir Putin says Russia will wait for rock hard evidence before deciding who carried out an alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria last month. He says all options remain on the table - but facts and international authorisation should come before intervention. RT's Sean Thomas reports.

Vladimir Putin Warns US over Syria 'Aggression'

In an interview ahead of the G20 summit in St Petersburg, Russian President Vladimir Putin warns that military action against the Syrian regime without UN Security Council backing would be considered an "aggression".

Russian Says Western Support for Arab Revolts Could Cause a ‘Big War’
THE NEW YORK TIMES: MOSCOW — Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, warned Wednesday that outside encouragement of antigovernment uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa could lead to “a very big war that will cause suffering not only to countries in the region, but also to states far beyond its boundaries.”

Mr. Lavrov’s annual news conference was largely devoted to a critique of Western policies in Iran and Syria, which he said could lead to a spiral of violence.

His remarks came on the heels of a report on state-controlled television that accused the American ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, who has been in Moscow for less than a week, of working to provoke a revolution here. Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin, at an impromptu meeting with prominent editors, also unleashed an attack on the liberal radio station Ekho Moskvy, which he said was serving American interests.

Mr. Lavrov said Russia would use its position on the United Nations Security Council to veto any United Nations authorization of military strikes against the government of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria. The United Nations has repeatedly called for Syria end a crackdown on opposition demonstrators, which Arab League monitors say resulted in hundreds of deaths over the past month.

“If someone conceives the idea of using force at any cost — and I’ve already heard calls for sending some Arab troops to Syria — we are unlikely to be able to prevent this,” Mr. Lavrov said. “But this should be done on their own initiative and should remain on their conscience. They won’t get any authorization from the Security Council.”

Mr. Lavrov said foreign governments were arming “militants and extremists” in Syria, and he gave a bristling response to Susan E. Rice, the American ambassador to the United Nations, who on Tuesday expressed concern about possible Russian arms shipments to Syria.

“We don’t find it necessary to explain or justify anything,” Mr. Lavrov said. “We are only trading goods with Syria that are not prohibited by international law.” » | Ellen Barry and Michael Schwirtz | Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Libya: Arab League Calls for United Nations No-fly Zone
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Arab League called on the United Nations Security Council to impose a no-fly zone on Libya, increasing pressure on Europe and the US to embark on limited military action against the regime of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

As Colonel Gaddafi’s jets and tanks continued to gain ground against rebels in the east of the country, ministers from the 22-nation League agreed to call for action after emergency talks in Cairo. Officials said the body had already been in touch with the rebels about the situation on the ground.

Before the meeting, Amr Moussa, the secretary general of the Arab League and one of its most influential diplomats, had thrown his weight behind the air exclusion zone, saying it was the only way to protect Libyans from Gaddafi’s “disdainful” regime.

In a statement after a six-hour long meeting, he added: “The Arab League has officially requested the United Nations Security Council to impose a no-fly zone against any military action against the Libyan people.”

His comments came as the Gaddafi regime declared victory in the battle for the oil port of Ras Lanuf in eastern Libya, where it had fought with artillery, tanks, ships and planes to eject rebels for most of the last week[.] >>> Colin Freeman in Cairo, Nick Meo in Benghazi and Patrick Hennessy in London | Saturday, March 12, 2011

Analysis: Arab League Backs No-fly Zone in Libya
The Arab League's decision lays the groundwork for foreign powers to consider a no-fly zone over Libya. The league also reportedly decided to recognise a rebel council as the representative of the Libyan people. The decision, announced on Egyptian state television, ends weeks of debate among Arab nations, overcoming widespread resistance to the idea of foreign intervention in an Arab member state. Al Jazeera's James Bays, reporting from the capital Cairo, puts the decision into perspective


THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Libya: as Colonel Gaddafi's tanks roll eastwards, rebels are defiant but fear a bloody revenge – Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's planes, tanks and artillery are gradually taking their toll on the rebels. They are defiant, but fear a bloody revenge if the West does not intervene. >>> Nick Meo, in Benghazi and Richard Spencer in Tripoli | Saturday, March 12, 2011

THE GUARDIAN: Gaddafi's army will kill half a million, warn Libyan rebels: Rebels flee Ras Lanuf and call on UN to impose no-fly zone as Gaddafi's forces recapture strategically important towns >>> Chris McGreal in Benghazi | Saturday, March 12, 2011

Israel Defends Actions at UN Security Council


THE SCOTSMAN: Israel is isolated by world condemnation after attack on aid flotilla: THE international community united in condemning Israel yesterday following an attack on an aid flotilla bound for the blockaded Gaza Strip that left at least ten people dead. >>> Claire Smith and Mark Smith | Tuesday, June 01, 2010

THE GUARDIAN: UN formally condemns Israel's deadly assault on Gaza aid flotilla: UN security council calls for impartial investigation after pro-Palestinian activists killed by Israelis in Mavi Marmara raid >>> Harriet Sherwood in Ashdod and Matthew Weaver | Tuesday, June 01, 2010

Guardian video here

Iran Seeks Security Council Seat
THE JERUSALEM POST: The United Nations General Assembly will hold a vote Friday on Iran's request to become temporary member of the organization's Security Council.

Iran may be under three sets of sanctions from the UN Security Council over its nuclear program, but that has not stopped it from campaigning for the temporary membership.

The chances of Iran winning the Asian regional seat against rival Japan in Friday's voting are widely viewed as slim-to-none: Victory would require support from two-thirds of all General Assembly member countries that turn up for the secret ballot.

Yet experts said just being in the race at all may be prize enough for Teheran, which announced its candidacy in September 2007.

"As with many governments, the Iranian government sometimes finds it advantageous to portray itself as an outsider that's challenging the status quo," said Ian Hurd, a political scientist at Northwestern University in Chicago who has written about legitimacy and power on the Security Council.

"They may want to run and lose to keep that outsider status," he said.

Iran, which last sat on the Security Council in 1956, may be the only country to vie for one of the body's 10 rotating seats while under active sanctions. Rwanda already held a seat on the Security Council when genocide erupted there in 1994. Libya, which currently holds a seat, expressed interest but did not make a formal bid until after sanctions linked to the investigation of the 1988 Pan Am jet bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland were lifted in 2003, according to analysts with the Columbia University-affiliated Security Council Report.

UN rules allow any member country to declare its candidacy, but the charter instructs representatives to consider candidates' contribution to the "maintenance of international peace and security." >>> By Allison Hoffman, New York | October 17, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Hardcover (US) Barnes & Noble >>>

Iran Has Not Suspended Unranium Enrichment, Says IAEA
BBC: The UN nuclear watchdog has said Iran has provided it with information about its past nuclear activities as agreed under a work plan made in August.

But a new IAEA report also said Iran had not suspended uranium enrichment work as demanded by the UN Security Council and had 3,000 centrifuges.

The US said it proved Tehran continued to defy UN calls to suspend enrichment and should face further sanctions. UN mixed on Iran nuclear report (more)

IAEA Report (PDF)

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FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG:
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