New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters showed that the small nation intends to be heard when he addressed the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 27.
He briefly deviated from his scripted remarks to say to those were having conversations in the audience: “Or maybe a third principle, when somebody is addressing you, the rest of the people in the room keep quiet.”
But that was perhaps the least contentious thing he had to say in a speech in which he called Russia “delinquent,” accused Hamas of “monstrous terrorist attacks,” and characterised Israel’s response as “overwhelming,” saying both had set the world “on the precipice of an even wider conflict.”
Additionally, the use of Security Council veto powers by its permanent members—China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States—has long been a point of contention for New Zealand.
Peters said that the General Assembly should demand the Council to be more accountable and examine “the motives behind the use of the veto where it obstructs meaningful action.”
He quoted New Zealand’s wartime prime minister, Peter Fraser, who warned that “the veto which can be exercised by one of the Great Powers both in regard to itself and other nations is unfair and indefensible and may, if retained and exercised, be destructive not only of the main purposes of the international organisation but of the institution itself.”
Peters said the spirit that created the United Nations Charter was now “sagging under the weight of its own potted history.”
He went on to warn that some permanent members “consistently and frequently abuse this power” before singling out Russia, which has blocked resolutions regarding its invasion of Ukraine and calling for an immediate withdrawal.
He said the superpower had “acted in utter contempt” of the U.N. Charter when it illegally invaded Ukraine and then used its veto to avoid international condemnation.
The foreign affairs minister said the Security Council needed to be reformed so that it “looks more like today’s world,” where there were increasing tensions between a rules-based international order that protects small states and the “unjustified exercise of power by certain Great Powers.”
“Yet small states matter now as much as they did then. New Zealand holds the foundational belief that all states are equal and that our voices matter as much as the more powerful states represented here. It is the quality of our arguments and the principles of justice that inform them, not the size of our militaries, that should hold sway here.”
‘Unacceptable Violence’ in Gaza
Turning to the conflict in Gaza, the foreign minister’s choice of words reflected New Zealand’s shift in attitude which has occurred over the past month.Where before it was unwavering in its support of Israel, Peters now placed the blame on on both sides, asking where the “sincerity and moral determination” of today’s leaders was at the “vortex of this unacceptable violence.”
“This misery was caused by both Hamas’ monstrous terrorist attacks last year and the now overwhelming nature of Israel’s response,” he said. “We are most concerned about the generational consequences of this level of suffering and violence, with no end in sight and which sees us on the precipice of an even wider conflict.”
“Growing distrust and division is making international co-operation more difficult, placing the United Nations under strain, and hindering the organisation’s ability to find an effective solution,” Peters said, saying this required diplomacy and political leadership to solve.
He told the General Assembly that New Zealand had sacrificed too many young men to conflicts overseas and never wanted to experience another world war.
“We must reject and resist those who seek to conquer and control. We must always seek the path of peace because the lasting victories of humanity are those of peace, not war.”
Peters also announced New Zealand’s intention to campaign for a seat on the Security Council “as a voice for small states,” though not until the 2039-40 term. It previously served a two-year term between January 2015 and December 2016, the culmination of a decade-long campaign.
