dna | CNN Indonesia
Wednesday, 05 Apr 2023 10:05 WIB
Jakarta, CNNIndonesia —
Exactly April 1, 2023, Russia returned to chair the leadership of the United Nations Security Council or DK PBB. In fact, the Red Bear Country is in a vortex of trouble.
“This is the world’s worst April Fool’s joke,” said Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytri Kulebo, quoted by CNN. Kulebo’s tweets are no less and no more.
The reason is that after 14 months of Russia occupying parts of Ukraine, thousands of innocent lives have become victims of war, some of whom are civilians.
Not only that, President Vladimir Putin was also accused of being a war criminal by the International Criminal Court (ICC), for allegedly illegally deporting Ukrainian children to Russia.
Under these circumstances, putting Russia in the chair of the UN Security Council leader tasked with maintaining international peace and security seems like an April Fool’s joke to many people.
“Starting from April 1, they took the absurdity to a new level. The Security Council as by design is immobilized and unable to address issues of their responsibility, namely conflict prevention and conflict management,” said Ukraine’s UN Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya.
Why Russia Can Become Chair of the UN Security Council?
The UN Security Council has five permanent members with veto power: the United States, China, Russia, Britain and France.
Meanwhile, the 10 non-permanent members of the UN Security Council are elected for a term of two years, at the UN General Assembly.
Each month, both permanent and non-permanent member countries, hold the presidency of the UN Security Council in rotation alphabetically.
Last March, Mozambique as a non-permanent member held the chairmanship. Next, throughout April 2023, Russia will have its turn to sit as chairman of the UN Security Council.
Few remember that Russia last chaired the UN Security Council in February 2022, just before the invasion and the outbreak of war in Ukraine.
As head of an international security agency, a president of the council is supposed to be neutral.
However, as chair of the UN Security Council, Russia has the right and obligation to organize various security-related meetings, including on Ukraine. Even the Kremlin last week emphasized that it would only use all of them as UNSC chairpersons.
Some observers say that Russia will use this opportunity to accuse the US and other Western countries of various false accusations against Moscow.
Ukraine’s ambassador to the UN confirmed that his party would “stay away” from several Security Council summons throughout April, except for those related to crisis national security interests.
Ukraine is not currently a member of the UN Security Council. But Kiev officials are frequently summoned to speak on issues related to the war.
Meanwhile the US urged Russia to “behave professionally” while holding the presidency.
Can Russia be expelled from the UN Security Council?
Over the past year, Ukraine has questioned whether Russia still has the right to a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
But is it possible to get Russia out of the UNSC, or even UN membership, for its actions in Ukraine?
The UN Charter, which forms the basis of the world organization, does not regulate clauses for expelling permanent members. Moreover, with veto rights, Russia can easily maintain its position as a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
“A country that flagrantly violates the UN charter and invades another country should have no place in the UN Security Council,” the representative for the US mission to the UN told CNN.
He added, “Unfortunately Russia is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, and no international legal avenues can change that fact.”
The only thing that can be done now is to challenge Russia’s aggressive stance. The United States promised to do just that.
“We continue to voice their lies and present credible voices, data and facts on the ground,” said the US mission to the United Nations.
(dna/dna)
