United Nations Security Council, through delegate’s eyes
The sessions of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) continue in Ljubljana, Slovenia for the second day. The main issues that arose during the sessions were the failed protection of civilians in South Sudan. Alongside the atrocities that were published about the UN peacekeepers, some of the UNSC delegates were accused of bribery and secret negotiations. The question at this point is whether at the sessions of the Security Council solutions for the crisis in South Sudan are proposed, or is the focus shifted to the shady deals amongst certain delegations. For the last two days of the sessions we expected to see a revealing set of events that should explain which countries are covering their personal interests and which ones are sincerely interested in implementing the measures to prevent the deepening of the crisis.
On July 11th 2018, in Ljubljana a second session of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) was held. The topic of the debate still regarded the ongoing crisis in South Sudan and the appalling news on the UN peacekeepers’ treatment to the civilians in the area. Many speculations from yesterday’s session have been clarified. The delegation of Ivory Coast was one of the first to accept a short interview. In their statement they confirmed to have contacted the delegation of Kuwait, following the instructions of their government. “Since the involvement of Kuwait in the secret meeting was confirmed, we wanted to know their intentions, but not cooperate with them’’, said the delegate of Ivory Coast. The delegate also expressed their belief that the corruption of Secretaries General is real. This is the reason, according to Ivory Coast, of the revealed secret cooperation with Russian Federation. They finally called for the presence of the delegation of South Sudan.
A surprising visit of South Sudan delegate was one of the most turbulent events of yesterday’s session. Provocative comments of the delegate kindled a heated discussion, showing the delegation of China and South Sudan discrepancies. The delegate of South Sudan showed a brutal approach toward the UN forces, saying that South Sudan wants all the UN peacekeepers to leave their country: ‘’They will leave alive or in body bags’’. The other delegations were shocked by the statement, since their main goal is to keep the reputation of the UN on a higher level.
It was made obvious that a major problem of the UN Security Council is the shaky ground of their reputation. Besides accusations to the delegation of the UK for doubling the troops in crisis area, the UK was additionally accused of being linked to the military man, that appeared in the chambers on Monday. His identity has been revealed and he seems to be connected to British Armed Forces. For that, Russian federation calls for suspension of the UK membership. This drastic stroke is expressed in Russia’s press statement, where they claim the UK to be at fault of organising the secret meeting between Kuwait and the UN Secretaries General: ‘’The bribe was made by the United Kingdom to cover up the fact that they have been repeatedly breaking the arms embargo in South Sudan’’. We are still waiting for a press statement of the delegation of the UK. The last session will show whether the membership of the UK to the Security Council is endangered. Regarding the Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General’s connection to the bribe, they officially deny any corruption issues.
After many turning events, the personal errors of three delegates were not even in the centre of discussion. Delegates of China, Ethiopia and Ivory Coast made some irrational (not fully aware) decisions, due to the state of inebriation. None of the delegates denied the news, however they did not offer official statements regarding their personal life as well. One could ask if the workload in the Security Council is so high, that alcohol seems like a good stress-release for the delegates.
The delegation of Ethiopia already expressed its interest to focus on more concrete solutions in crisis areas. In their press statement they called for regional security is a precariat concern for the delegation at the moment, as well as the development of civil engineering. The ideas represented by the delegate were also budget relocation from P5 to other countries, such as Ethiopia, in order to provide more money directly to the damaged areas. It is debatable whether this sanction would improve the future of crisis zones in Africa, or is this suggestion only a personal interest of Ethiopia’s delegation. Both, Ethiopia and Ivory Coast delegates expressed their hope for the African countries to increase their cooperation, precisely on a regional level.
The delegates of Sweden and Kazakhstan expressed similar concerns as the majority, without any direct accusations to other parties. The delegate of Sweden underlines the importance of gender equality and the protection of children in crisis areas: ‘’The Kingdom of Sweden is satisfied with the Council's progress. We have advanced women's rights and taken a gender-sensitive approach. We want to stand up for those who need our protection in these crisis zones, especially children. One needs to further discuss how the UN can better address women's needs. Unfortunately, some members of the council do not want to enhance the percentage of female personnel- this will further be on Sweden's agenda while on the Security Council.’’ Alongside with Sweden, the delegation of Ethiopia also addressed gender equality issues, stressing Ethiopia’s improvement in gender equality and women empowerment.
The delegation of Kazakhstan is focused on the future of the UN. They stay positive, unlike many other members: ‘’Kazakhstan is extremely upset by the resent case of high-level corruption within the UN as well as ongoing events in South Sudan. We believe they question the core values of the UN and all achievement made so far. The UN is not yet dead, but it is fragile. The trust given to the UN and UNSC in particular was misused by powerful states or rather groups of states to pursuit their own interests. However, we see the light at the end of tunnel. At these harsh times we have no choice but to stay united, drop off personal and nationalist goals and strive for global sustainable peace.’’
Today’s session was expected to provide updates on the current situation and if other members, especially the UK and the US, will be able to offer their opinion to the public. Without any official statements, the public can interpret their silence in various ways.
