Countries Attempting To Undermine UN System Become Outsiders - Russian Envoy

UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th October, 2020) Countries that attempt to undermine the authority of the United Nations and replace international law and order with one-sided concepts will find themselves at a loss, Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia told Sputnik in an interview to mark the 75th anniversary of the world's body.

On October 24, the United Nations celebrated the entry into force in 1945 of the UN Charter. The ratification of this foundational treaty, which established the United Nations' overall framework, allowed the organization to come into being.

"We consistently oppose the undermining of the United Nations' authority and the substitution of international law by various disputable and lopsided concepts. The majority of the UN member states oppose such practice as well," Nebenzia told Sputnik. "As practice shows, those who proceed with unilateral actions eventually end up being the outsiders because they lose the opportunity to influence certain significant developments around the globe."

Nebenzia stressed that Russia does not share the "alarmist sentiment" that the UN system is not properly coping with its goals and objectives.

According to the diplomat, the United Nations represents the world in miniature with its natural contradictions and shortcomings. In situations when compromise is possible, the United Nations - being the only world organization with universal legitimacy - is the most appropriate platform to reach it, he said.

"The emphasis of UN critics on several isolated subjects, on which the organization, due to objective reasons, cannot agree, should not distort the overall picture," Nebenzia told Sputnik.

The recent process of adopting a resolution calling for the establishment of a global ceasefire amid the COVID-19 pandemic is one example of such lack of consensus at the UN's most powerful organ.

The resolution, eventually adopted on July 1, had been waiting for member states to vote on it since April because China and the United States could not agree on the mentioning in its text of the role of the World Health Organization (WHO) in combating the novel coronavirus.

US President Donald Trump decided in May to withdraw from the WHO and halt its funding to the UN's organization for "mismanaging" the handling of the pandemic and aiding China in covering up the spread of the virus.

After the UN Security Council resolution's text on the issue was altered multiple times, the final version excluded mentioning of the WHO and the country of origin of the COVID-19 virus.

Countries at the 15-member UN Security Council often find themselves in discord when it comes to voicing a unified position on a particular matter of international peace and security.

Moreover, the five permanent member states - China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States - enjoy a veto power, which gives these nations a right to block the council's legally binding resolutions. Often, casting a veto emerges from an objective of a certain country to protect its national interests.

Nebenzia explained that situations when member states cannot find a compromise make up a small percentage of the total number of solutions achieved unanimously and based on consensus both within the UN Security Council and the General Assembly.

"Of course, the United Nations does not have some kind of 'magic wand' that can solve all the world's problems at once," Nebenzia noted. "The core of the organization's activities is comprised of dialogue, consultations, search for compromises and solutions that suit all," he told Sputnik.

The United Nations still enjoys considerable authority in the world and the position of its main organs is often a turning point in the course of conflicts globally, according to the diplomat.

"The UN's position is at least being listened to, and the decisions of the Security Council represent the basis for the settlement of many conflicts throughout the world," Nebenzia concluded.