Speech by President Charles Michel at the UN
A new world is being born outside these windows. A world where the biggest gun, the sharpest knife, the fastest warplane, the heaviest bomb, and the loudest voice win out, and the peaceful lose out.
As we sit in this hall of diplomacy, a world of raw force and brute power rages outside, in Ukraine, the Middle East, and Sudan.
Look down at your hands. Do you see fingers made to pull the trigger of a gun? Or hands made to build a bridge, a school, a hospital? And when you look at your neighbour, do you see an enemy to conquer? Or a fellow human being?
We are all responsible for what is happening outside these windows. But some clearly more than others.
A permanent seat on this Security Council is not a privilege, it is a responsibility — a grave responsibility bestowed on only five nations: to be the guardians of world peace. Today some of these members are not living up to their responsibility.
Back in 1945, the world wanted peace at all costs. We accepted your right to veto in exchange for securing global peace. This was the founding pact between the most powerful nations and the rest of the world, underpinned by the UN Charter and the new multilateral institutions.
But today, this pact is under constant assault. Every bomb that falls in Kyiv, every hospital demolished in Gaza, every village destroyed in Sudan, each of these tragedies is one more attack on our humanity.
When these crimes go unpunished, they become ‘normal’, they become the way of the world, they become the law. When crimes go unpunished, the victims lose faith, we all lose faith. And a new, more brutal world is born. This is not the world I want to hand over to my children, to our children.
The Security Council must be reformed, to make it more inclusive, more legitimate, and more effective.
When Russia invades Ukraine to wipe out Ukraine’s culture and language, this does not build Russia up, it tears Russia down in the eyes of the world.
When Hamas kills and kidnaps Israelis, this does not give Palestinians a state, it causes unspeakable suffering.
When Israel illegally occupies Palestinian soil for decades, and kills tens of thousands of innocent women and children, this does not strengthen Israel’s security, it makes Israel less safe. The latest military escalation in Lebanon is more than irresponsible, it makes the region and the world less safe.
And when two warring generals in Sudan take an entire nation hostage, millions go hungry, millions flee their homes, millions lose hope.
The worth of a nation — the worth of a community — is not measured by its capacity for violence, nor by the strength of its armies.
The worth of a nation is measured by its willingness to lift others up and to take the next small step to make the world more peaceful.
The European Union is a power for peace and security, and that will never change. In all the darkness, we must be a spark bringing more light and more hope to the world.
Together, we can make a difference. Together, we can again change the course of history. But it will take courage, daring, and leadership. It is time for all the permanent members of this Council to live up to their historic responsibility.